MOORPARK Primary School in Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire, is a design-forward, modern education building that embraces sustainable design using timber frame construction. The project was brought forward as part of North Ayrshire Council’s Capital Investment Programme and delivered through the Hub South West Scotland framework.
Overall, it involved the design and construction of a new, purpose-built building to replace the town’s previous primary school, which could no longer meet the community’s growing needs.
Located adjacent to the former school in Kilbirnie, the new school building has 12 primary classes and a 16-place early years provision. It also offers a spacious hall, breakout areas and an all-weather pitch offering a dynamic, welcoming learning environment for local children. Other key features include a natural ventilation strategy that provides natural, fresh air throughout the year, and solar PV panels that generate renewable electricity for the school.
Main contractor Clark Contracts appointed multidisciplinary firm Clancy Consulting to provide structural engineering services on the project. The Clancy team in Scotland worked with client, Robertson Timber Engineering, to finalise the timber frame kit design and bring this ambitious school building to life.
As a key strategic priority for North Ayrshire Council, the environmental performance of the building was a significant factor in the decision to use timber as the primary building material. Initial designs for the build specified cross-laminated timber (CLT) for the structural system, but it was deemed a more expensive option by the end-client.
The Clancy team worked with the local authority and Robertson Timber Engineering to value-engineer the final design, which ultimately brought down costs without affecting environmental performance – a key requirement for the project.
As a result, the structure is built using a traditional open-panel timber frame solution, which resulted in fast construction times, reduced weatherrelated delays, and greater flexibility for on-site design modifications if required. The decision to take this approach achieved the design ambition, maintained structural integrity and reduced the embodied carbon of the project.
The circular drum that forms the heart of the school presented a unique engineering challenge for the design and build teams. Instead of relying on curved elements, Clancy worked on a design that was broken down into separate faceted timber panels. This more flexible design solution enabled straightforward off-site manufacture of the timber materials and on-site assembly. The result was a faster, more economical construction method that used repeatable components which could be put in place with ease.
Clancy also helped the contractor to navigate the complexities of another key structural requirement: the inclusion of a large water tank on the first floor. The nonstandard placement of this vital part of the building’s infrastructure presented certain challenges for each team. The Clancy team designed a custom steel frame solution that provides the necessary support for the water tank within the timber structure.
The switch from CLT to traditional timber brought down costs and the programme length. It reduced the construction schedule from 22 weeks to 16 weeks, while providing important financial savings for the local authority.
Wendy Thomson, Associate of Clancy Consulting, commented: “The success of this project was underpinned by our reputation for a highly collaborative approach to design consultancy and structural engineering. After Clark Contracts brought us on board for engineered design input, we worked with Robertson Timber Engineering to deliver the timber frame kit design. We worked closely alongside Robertson’s design team to resolve the complex structural and geometric detailing in the finished building.
“The strength of this three-strong supply chain relationship aligned alignment structural design, manufacture, and site delivery in harmony. This enabled any issues with design and build to be resolved quickly, without hindering the programme delivery.”
www.robertson.co.uk/robertson-timberengineering