Description: The first net zero carbon ready higher education building in Scotland, home to over 5,000 learners. Designed to provide innovative teaching spaces and flexible social areas. The campus spanning over 20,000m² includes an impressive central atrium, events and conference centre, sports hall and studio, learning café, university hub, state of the art engineering and construction workshops, plus outdoor teaching and activity areas. The facilities were designed to integrate function and sustainability.  

As a Scottish Government Pathfinder project, Fife College Dunfermline City Campus has helped demonstrate how low-carbon construction methods can be successfully applied at a scale not previously seen in Scotland’s education sector. The adoption of a lightweight hybrid CLT and recycled steel structure presented acoustic challenges beyond those typically associated with conventional concrete construction, requiring careful consideration of sound insulation, impact noise, vibration control and flanking transmission. Acoustic design formed an integral part of the Pathfinder approach, with the project team developing and implementing robust acoustic solutions that ensured the innovative low-carbon structural system could deliver the high standards of acoustic performance required for modern learning environments.

Client: Balfour Beatty

Value: £155m

Key services: Sound Insulation, Room Acoustics, Building Services Noise, Indoor Ambient Noise, Planning and Design

Relevance: BREEAM, Education, Net Zero, Low Carbon, Open Plan Teaching and Learning, Outdoor Activities and Learning, Flexibles Spaces, Performance Facilities, Sports Facilities, Community Facilities, BB93