Education Buildings Scotland

When: 27^th – 28^th November
Where: Edinburgh International Conference Centre

Directors Lindsey Mitchell and Christoph Ackermann will both speak on the first day of the Education Buildings Scotland conference, which this year takes the theme of Scotland’s Learning Estate – Connecting People, Places and Learning.  Lindsey’s presentation is based on a research project she is doing with Scottish Future’s Trust called A Sense of Connection, exploring the five senses in architecture. For this she has visited three new schools, including the BDP designed Ayr Academy, where she interviewed the pupils, teachers and non-teaching staff to try to understand how they feel in certain spaces. She will discuss the obligation of designers to create educational buildings for a diverse learning population with a diverse range of needs and ask if enough is being done to ensure their meaningful experiences in these spaces. Lindsey and her team recently won the Glasgow Institute of Architects (GIA) award for Education for Maidenhill Primary School and Nursery which also won the Wood for Good award.

Christoph will present on the Potential of the Existing Estate looking at the value and quality of existing buildings which can be refurbished so they can deliver affordable excellence in education. Repurposing and integration of existing buildings can be a cost effective and valuable alternative to new build and he will demonstrate BDP’s strong track record in delivering a variety of education projects, from early years to tertiary sector, which make use of and improve upon the existing estate. Case studies will include Ayr Grammar, Marr College and the University of Strathclyde’s Learning and Teaching Project.