This project involves the provision of a new two-storey school building within the grounds of the existing school on Inveroran Drive in Bearsden. The new Boclair Academy will provide state-of-the-art facilities for 1,050 pupils, comprising a large entrance atrium, flexible teaching zones, performance spaces and dining areas.

The project will be phased to retain the operation of the existing school until completion of the new build. Improved outdoor sports facilities form part of the scheme, with landscape design and parking to follow by summer 2023.

Procured through the Scape framework, the project has had to overcome a series of challenges, including the site topography where the design has incorporated a 4m level change across the footprint of the school.

This has offered the design team the opportunity to introduce a number of dynamic and exciting circulation spaces within the central part of the school, which benefit from a profusion of natural light into the core of the building.

Sustainable design has been a key driver for the project. The design has included the inclusion of wetlands and a pond for surface water run-off, prior to discharge from site; and use of Curtins’ carbon calculator to report on the embodied carbon within the structure and to aid the planning process.

Key points:

• Live school site within a residential area
• Multi-phased project
• Demolition of existing school on completion

Image courtesy of Ryder Architecture