Edinburgh Campus - under construction

Three years ago Jewel & Esk College envisioned an ambitious redevelopment project to fully modernise its facilities from the ground up. Fast-forward to the present and the £53m e:volve project is now one of the biggest and most ambitious redevelopment projects in Scotland with construction work at an advanced stage at its campuses in Eskbank, Midlothian and Edinburgh.

Guided by the vision of One College – Two Campuses, the project owes much of its success to the foundations that were laid before a brick was even placed. Back in September 2005, one of the most effective and dynamic design and construction teams ever assembled in Scotland, was brought together with college staff and students to create detailed plans for the complete redesign and reconstruction of both campuses.

The multi-million project will see the college’s existing buildings replaced with two new purpose built campuses which will be open to students by October this year.

Nine months into the construction phase, the design vision for both campuses is fast becoming an impressive reality. Thanks to a wide ranging consultation process involving college staff, as well as design and engineering experts, meticulous designs have been created to ensure each campus is industry focused and meets the college’s exacting requirements.

The Edinburgh Campus includes a complete refit of the iconic ship building – built in its days as a nautical college – which will incorporate music, multimedia, general purpose teaching, IT and office accommodation. A new building will be added to provide learning and teaching facilities for students studying hospitality, health and fitness, beauty and complementary therapies, catering and hairdressing.

The Midlothian Campus will house the Faculty of Technology, which provides specialist construction and oil and gas related courses, as well as extensive learning and teaching facilities for health and social care, childcare, computing and business studies.

By combining professional collaboration with staff input, every workshop, learning centre and classroom has been created with vocational learning and student needs in mind. The final designs for both campuses carry the same design themes, features and materials and will be extensively landscaped to create inspiring learning environments. With construction progressing according to plan, the project is taking shape both structurally and visually thanks to the continued successful collaboration of the project’s design and construction team.

The buildings are wind and water-tight and the various internal trades within those buildings are progressing extremely well and remain on schedule for completion in 2008.

Working to create the new campuses’ distinctive design, main contractor Miller Construction, appointed in 2006, has worked closely with Edinburgh-based architect RMJM throughout the construction process. Project architect Phil Gray, of RMJM, reflects that the project has clearly distinguished itself for the way it has brought people together in a collaborative culture, based around a shared vision.

He said: “From the very beginning the college Principal, Howard McKenzie, made a point of bringing all the design team and contractors together, not just in a work setting, but also socially.

“With timescales and budgets incredibly tight, it is hard to underestimate just how important this has been. It has created a culture in which innovation and trust has flourished with the designers and contractors working together to achieve optimum solutions and cost savings.”

Buy-in to the project from everyone involved has been hard-wired in as a result of the approach adopted by the college, RMJM and Miller Construction.

This has seen constant dialogue between the contractors and all college staff, from the Principal through to the janitors. The most intensive sessions came with the staff who met in core groups to take part in workshops to establish in detail what they wanted from the new spaces.

Phil said: “We wanted to find out what were people’s requirements, what were their aspirations – what emerged were tailor-made environments that reflected the needs of different faculties.

“This ability to make informed choices does not happen over night – we had to give people a basic understanding of how to build buildings and keep them focused on the vision and what would be a perfect outcome for them in light of the constraints.”

Over many sessions the project team extracted as much information as possible, capturing such details as size of space and proximity to other areas.

Through further workshops staff continued to provide comment and feedback which were incorporated into updated designs for the following workshops.

“The end of the process was for staff to sign off on the designs and data sheets that specify exactly what is in each room,” explained Phil.

“If for some reason we were not able to incorporate a request, we always explained why and this has been reflected in the college’s understanding and support. As a result of this process buyin, the backing from staff has been incredible.

“Perhaps the best example of this was when all the staff and students at the Edinburgh Campus moved into temporary accommodation at Eskbank to allow construction work to progress. The college has moved smoothly through this process and I believe that is one of the key benefits of meaningful consultation – when people have a thorough knowledge of the larger picture, they are much more willing to put up with short term inconvenience.”

Jewel & Esk’s director of campus redevelopment, Steve Hudson, said: “In every aspect of its development, the e:volve project has been a collaborative effort. From architectural design right through to construction, teamwork has played an important role in the creation of the right environment for the college’s future.

“As you would expect from a further education project, people, in the form of staff, students and the local community, have been a central focus from the very beginning. We felt the input of those who would be using the facilities was essential to a successful development and design process.

“Further down the line, our team of architects and constructors have worked side-by-side to come up with innovative building solutions which really make the college stand out thanks to the willingness of people to explore new ideas together.

“For example, the project’s cladding, which was recently installed, sees products with a traditional, industrial heritage turned into something interesting and remarkable. By turning the cladding inside out they have been able to use industrial materials in a new way to create a striking effect that is truly unique.

“This has been made to stand out still further by the paint finish which is a shiny bronze colour that will take the light in an unusual way. The overall effect is inspired by bringing together the college’s heritage as a nautical college and standing as a modern teaching environment and could not have been achieved without the collaborative efforts of RMJM and Miller Construction.”

College Principal Howard McKenzie added: “We are one of Scotland’s biggest further education establishments, offering a range of courses which involve a high degree of practical learning in a real-life work environment.

“The views of the staff and students who will use the new facilities have been integral to the design and construction process from the very outset, as our aim is to provide a modern environment with the right tools to prepare our students for successful careers.

“This is not only a major step in the college’s growth but a huge project for the communities we serve and also further education facilities in general across Scotland. The Scottish economy will benefit too, through a better skilled, more experienced workforce.”

Local politicians, including Edinburgh East and Musselburgh MSP Kenny MacAskill and Midlothian MSP Rhona Brankin, and other stakeholders, have already visited the new campuses to see the progress which has been made.

A series of briefings with local stakeholders of both campuses are planned during the course of the year to continue the project’s focus on collaboration and public involvement.

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