The new Maybole Community Campus opened in August 2023. It incorporates Carrick Academy, St Cuthbert’s Primary School, and the new Culzean Primary School and Early Years Centre (formed from the amalgamation of Gardenrose and Cairn Primary schools) creating an inspiring learning environment for up to 1,370 pupils.

The site, adjacent to Carrick Academy, has been transformed into a modern, four-storey campus where pupils will flourish for many years to come.

Maybole Community Campus encompasses Early Years, Primary and Secondary schools and also includes community use facilities such as changing pavilion, gym, fitness suite, sports halls, swimming pool and wet change area and police office.

The new school was developed for South Ayrshire Council by development partner hub South West Scotland and is based on the Scottish Schools for the Future model.

The project aims were to:

• Provide good comfort conditions to provide an excellent learning environment
• Develop sustainable lifecycle solutions and reduce energy consumption
• Drive cost-efficiency
• Focus on providing passive environmental design principles, where possible, to minimise carbon emissions, capital costs and running costs

In support of Scotland’s net zero ambitions, the new school boasts renewable energy solutions via a roof mounted Solar PV array and a wind turbine. Heating is also supplied via 25 no. Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) housed on the roof.

There are various forms of heating throughout the school:

•  Classroom heating is provided by radiant panels and classroom vent units
• Circulation areas and games hall heating are provided by radiant panels
• Atrium areas, the nursery classrooms and wet changing area for the swimming pool are provided by underfloor heating

FES Ltd was engaged by Morgan Sindall to deliver the following:

• Design was novated from TUV Sud to FES on contract award
• Design, supply, install, test and commission the mechanical and electrical services and IT infrastructure
• The externals package incorporated the connection, installation, testing and commissioning of the external water main and fire hydrant

Prefabrication

FES made good use of prefabrication for M&E services, utilising pipework modules and the construction of 2 no. plant rooms which were installed on the roof. This ensured that bulky construction works were done in a safe, secure environment and were delivered to site ready for install.  Having the plant rooms prefabricated literally saved months of construction time. The pipework modules for the ASHPs were also prefabricated which helped keep labour resource for installation to a minimum.

Client Feedback:

“The FES team worked collaboratively with Morgan Sindall and the wider supply chain throughout the duration of the Maybole CC project. FES demonstrated their strength in offsite prefabrication through the delivery of prefabricated plantrooms. The plantrooms provided the project with programme, environmental and health & safety benefits whilst being delivered to the highest quality standards. I look forward to continuing to build our working relationship with FES on future projects.”

Graeme Begley MCIOB, Building Services Lead – Scotland, Morgan Sindall Construction

“FES have been involved in over £200m worth of our education projects including the award-winning Marr College and Ayr Grammar Primary and Nursery projects. Over the past decade we have built strong relationships with the team who share our vision for delivering first-class, high quality and sustainable facilities.

Most recently FES were involved in the delivery of the £60 million Maybole Community Campus project where we welcomed their strong partnership working ethos and solid understanding on our testing and commissioning processes that ensure our projects are delivered to the highest standards. More widely FES support a range of apprenticeship activities that contribute to our regional approach to skills development.”

Michael Ross, Chief Executive, hub South West Scotland

The new build Canaan Lane Primary School provides much needed accommodation for primary school and early years nursery spaces in the Morningside catchment area of Edinburgh. The new school opened in August 2022 has capacity for 420 primary school pupils and has an early learning and childcare facility with capacity for 80 early years spaces.

The new 2-storey building includes:

8 dedicated classrooms, 1 general purpose classroom, flexible teaching/break-out spaces, dining hall and kitchen, PE hall, 2 nursery classrooms, library, staff facilities, comms room, laundry room and external playgrounds.

The new school was designed with sustainability at its core, and it achieved a BREEAM rating of “Very Good”.

Primary heating for the building is provided by 6 no. Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs), with a natural gas fired boiler providing additional top-up heat for domestic hot water generation. Heating throughout the school is provided by underfloor heating served from the main heating plant. A dedicated variable-temperature heating circuit within the heating plant room distributes low temperature hot water throughout the building to each underfloor heating manifold.

FES Ltd was engaged by Morgan Sindall to deliver the following:

• Supply, install, test and commission the mechanical and electrical services and IT infrastructure
• The infrastructure package incorporated the coordination, installation, testing and commissioning of water and gas services into the building
• FES had Contractor’s Design Portions (CDPs) for bracketry, pipework, air-conditioning, natural ventilation, fire, security and sprinklers, underfloor heating, lighting controls, induction loops, clocks, earthing, lightning protection, the Building Management System (BMS) and data.

Prefabrication

FES made good use of prefabrication for M&E services, utilising modules and the construction of 2 no. plant rooms. This ensured that bulky construction works were done in a safe, secure environment and were delivered to site ready for install. The modules reduced M&E programme installation durations in the corridors from several weeks to a few days.

Client Feedback:

“FES are to be commended on their M&E services delivery on this project. Their work rate was impressive, especially throughout the commissioning phase. The installations were of a very high quality throughout with few defects and any reported were dealt with promptly and to our satisfaction.”

Pete Almand, Senior Project Manager, City of Edinburgh Council

“The team at FES were a pleasure to work with. They pulled out all the stops to ensure that the client handover went ahead on the handover date and provided a high-quality delivery. I look forward to working with their team on future projects.”

Michael Braiden, Morgan Sindall, Senior Operations Manager

FES FM has overseen £500,000 of artificial pitch replacements at Notre Dame High and All Saints Primary within the Inverclyde area.
 
As part of the lifecycle replacement strategy for the schools, the pitches were due for replacement and have been upgraded from sand-filled 2G to the rubber crumb 3G, increasing the range of sports able to use them.
 
FES FM delivers complete facilities management services to the schools and are continuing the pitch improvement works at Clydeview Academy this summer.

FES worked collaboratively with East Lothian Council and the Dunbar Grammar management team in developing the project brief through the design period to ensure that the final design met not only the increased accommodation requirements but also the advances in current educational criteria and changes in curricular activity.

During the design development period FES worked closely with the FES FM Lifecycle Management Team to develop specifications and product selection which aligned and benefitted the long term asset management plan of the facility and wider East Lothian estate.

Energy efficiency was also at the forefront of planning with a number sustainable solutions implemented such as maximum use of natural ventilation, LED lighting and an ETFE covering the Social Hub to maximise the benefit of natural daylight all with the aim of not only environmental consideration but also reduced utility running costs.

In addition to providing specific teaching spaces, general teaching spaces, administration and support facilities and improved sports facilities the brief also called for a multi-purpose Social Hub for school and community use.

The main extension adjoins directly to the existing school across two storeys which presented a number of challenges in terms of managing the interface between construction and interface with the live school environment and associated adjacencies.

The programme was planned to enable the majority of the main construction activities to take place during term time with sequencing planned to take account of key periods of the terms such as exam times where construction activity would be reduced from exam centred areas.

The University of Edinburgh hired FES as a Design & Build Main Contractor on a single stage design and build contract to deliver the first of six contracts of the Kings Building Infrastructure project in the south of Edinburgh.

The project helped modernise the existing electrical and mechanical infrastructure on-site, including 4 new substations and the installation of a boiler.

Included was installation of Low Voltage and High Voltage electrical wiring of campus. We took several phases as one of the best approaches to ensure the continuation of the live campus environment with minimum disruption for staff members and students.

The project was successfully delivered within a live campus environment.

This stage of infrastructure updates is the first in a planned 10 – 15 years of significant new developments planned for the campus. 

A partnership between UWS, and developers HFD, the new 235,000 sq.ft. Lanarkshire campus offers a range of specialist labs, teaching facilities and social spaces as well as a gym, and student union. The new campus is one of the UK’s ‘greenest’ educational environments, with carbon neutral buildings incorporating sustainability features such as 100% renewable power, generated through a windfarm and rainwater harvesting.

The campus includes a 236-capacity auditorium and a conference space for up to 128 people. A priority has been placed on sustainability, making UWS Lanarkshire one of the UK’s greenest university campuses, powered by renewable energy from the nearby Blantyre Muir wind farm.

FES HV Division provided the installation for the High Voltage and Low Voltage Network and the Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS).

The Power Networks Demonstration Centre was a venture between the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Funding Council, and a number of leading energy companies aimed at accelerating the adoption of novel research and technologies into the electricity industry.

The £12.5m Power Network Demonstration Centre is the first of its kind in Europe. The centre aims to play a key role in increasing the UK electricity grid’s efficiency and reliability.

It will also test the next generation of smart electrical technologies.  Its work will support the integration of new renewable energy sources, electric vehicles and smart household appliances with the grid, which in turn should lower costs and emissions.

Professor Jim McDonald, principal of the University of Strathclyde, said: “The Power Network Demonstration Centre will support the development and accelerated deployment of new electrical power distribution technologies, helping the UK’s energy and engineering industries compete on the world stage.”

FES was proud to be appointed as the Mechanical and Electrical Contractor to the University of Strathclyde’s £89m Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow city centre.

The Technology and Innovation Centre brought together academics, researchers and project managers from the university and its leading industrial partners in the search for solutions to challenges in sectors central to economic regeneration in Scotland as well as power and energy, health and advanced engineering. It is the first Centre of its kind in Europe and will become the cornerstone of the International Technology and Renewable Energy Zone – Scotland’s hub for global green energy developments.

The triangular, nine-storey, steel-framed building was constructed on a 260,000 sq ft brownfield city centre site adjacent to the University over an 87-week period.  It includes open plan offices, three lecture theatres and specialist laboratory space. The facility was built to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ‘A’ rating standards – the industry’s highest energy-efficiency standard.

FES was fully responsible for leading the 3D modelling for the overall project, including all MEP Services and other third party co-ordination including FF&E. FES scope included engineering, drafting and installation of various aspects including contractor design, manufacture and assembly of complex service modules, thermal expansion of wet services and brackets / supports.

Detailed drafting / CAD drawings for offsite manufacture was a difficult challenge as traditional installation works were recognised as being uneconomical and inefficient in this type of building structure. The programme of works for the project was also extremely challenging, and site resources had to be strategically planned taking into account the number of other trades and financial budgets.

With early workshop design meetings involving both the architect and services consultant we were able to develop and introduce our ideas to make our installations streamlined and efficient. A fully interactive 3D model was controlled by FES. These meetings and workshops were critical to ensure full co-ordination and that architectural requirements were agreed up front by updating the 3D model on a weekly basis for project reference.

Early internal meetings were held to agree our project delivery strategy and we were able to determine our engineering works into specific phases of the building to match the overall construction programme, these were created by the FES ‘site team’ prior to producing working drawings for co-ordination and ultimately manufacture at our off site facility located in Stirling.

The full scope of works included:

HV & LV Distribution, Standby Generator, Photo-voltaic, Small Power, Lighting, Emergency Lighting, External Lighting, Lighting Control, IT Cabling, AV Systems, Fire & Security, Sprinklers, Heating Systems, Water Services, Dry Risers, Drainage, Ventilation, Smoke Vents, Fume Extract Systems, Compressed Air, Specialist Gasses and AC Systems.