Robertson has started work on a £12 million contract to transform the University of Edinburgh’s Darwin building.

The work will last 18 months and will prepare the site for refurbishment as it undergoes a significant evolution with the aim of creating world class facilities.

As part of the project, Robertson Central will build a three-storey extension to the university’s CH Waddington Building and a new Mechanical and Electrical Plant building. They will also carry out demolition of the existing Darwin library block plus various out-buildings. In addition, they will create an access haul road and divert M&E and underground utilities services.

David Cairns, regional managing director, Robertson Central, said: “This is a major project for the university and the work we are carrying out now will lay the groundwork for its success.

“We will be working closely with colleagues in Robertson Civil Engineering to deliver these enabling works and that in-house partnership is part of the reason we were successful in winning this high-profile contract.”

The Darwin building, part of the School of Biological Sciences, is a 1960s tower block within the King’s Buildings campus. Once the enabling works are complete, a contractor will be appointed to refurbish the tower and create a new three-storey adjoining extension on the footprint of the existing Darwin Library.

Expected to complete in 2021, the refurbishment will provide world-class research and teaching space for students and staff.