Scottish Schools lead large scale Passivhaus

Thanks to a drive from the Scottish Learning Estate Strategy & local councils zero carbon commitments, several exciting school developments are underway. Often combining educational spaces with other civic facilities, these mammoth new projects are aiming to provide focal points acting as civic beacons.

A very positive development in Scotland has been the funding criteria recently established for the Scottish Futures Trust’s (SFT) Learning Investment Programme. Projects receiving funding need to meet a very clear energy target of 67 kWh/m².yr, a comparable target with a typical new build Passivhaus school. Funding may be reduced based on any performance gap post-completion. The Passivhaus standard eliminates the performance gap, de-risking securing funding; This has led to a greater uptake in the Passivhaus standard in Scottish educational buildings.


Currie Community High School Committed to a target of net-zero carbon by 2030, the City of Edinburgh Council has embarked on an ambitious strategy to develop several combined schools and community hubs using Passivhaus standards. Currie Community High School Redevelopment, designed by PHT Patron Architype, is one of the first projects to be included in the Scottish Government's Learning Estate Investment Programme. Pupils will have access to large learning plazas, a debating chamber, recording studio, sensory garden, fitness suite and a wellness centre which will have a focus on supporting students' mental health. The £50 million building will begin welcoming pupils from 2024.	Location: Edinburgh Stage: Planning won March 2022 Completion due: 2024 (phase 1) Occupants: 1000 GIFA: 12749m²


Perth & Kinross High School Councillors have unanimously granted planning permission for the £68.7 million building project to replace Perth High School. Designed by NORR Architects, the new Passivhaus building will replace the existing school building with an expanded capacity of 1600 pupils. It offers modern classrooms, a large open double-height theatre, high specification labs and workshops alongside open-plan learning plazas and breakout areas with expanded support for the learning department. New sports pitches will be laid out on the north-east of the site. The facility is expected to open in the summer of 2024. PHT Patrons Max Fordham are Passivhaus Consultants & WARM are Passivhaus certifier on the project. There are also Passivhaus Primary schools underway in Perth & Kinross; £19.9 million Riverside Primary and Methven Primary.	Location: Perth & Kinross Stage: Planning won March 2022 Completion due: Summer 2024 Occupants: 1600


Maybury Primary School & Health Centre The new school forms part of the West Craigs masterplan and will house up to 420 primary and 128 nursery pupils, while the Health Centre and GP surgery will serve up to 10,000 patients. A second phase will increase the primary school capacity to 630 pupils. The development will also include facilities shared with the community like the sports hall and activity studios. The proposal is designed by PHT Patron Architype. The building has a projected energy use goal of around 40kWH/m²/yr resulting in an 86% energy reduction.	Location: Edinburgh Stage: Planning Completion due: June 2023 Occupants: 420 primary & 128 nursery pupils GIA: 4,981 m²


Ardrossan Community Campus Ardrossan Community Campus is a £80 million educational and community project for North Ayrshire Council replacing the Winton Primary and Ardrossan Academy schools. Partially funded through the Scottish Futures Trust, the project will be part of a new community and educational campus on a former brownfield site within Ardrossan’s North Shore and Harbour area and will target the Passivhaus standard, in line with SFT targets of in-use energy consumption of 67/kW/m²/annum. Designed by jmarchitects with PHT member Zero Energy +Passivhaus as the Passivhaus certifiers, the new campus is part of £150million plans for the site over 5-10 years which also include sports pitches, housing, commercial uses, roads, a new coastal path, and facilities associated with an extended marina.	Location: North Ayrshire Build start date: Site remediation Summer 2023, Construction to start Summer 2024 Anticipated completion date: 2026

We hope to bring you more detailed case studies as the schemes above progress. Is your Passivhaus project missing? Share your projects by completing & returning the following request form.

Join us

Learn more about inspiring Scottish schools at the 2023 UK Passivhaus Conference which is taking place in Scotland on 16 & 17 October This hybrid event (in-person and online) will be held at the University of Edinburgh.

Over two days we will be exploring the adaptability of Passivhaus, its implementation and benefits over a diverse range and scale of projects around the UK, and its potential applicability throughout Scotland! Be sure to register early for the site visits!