Inverurie Community Campus, Aberdeenshire

2 Aug

The Project

Deanestor has manufactured and supplied furniture, fittings and equipment for the new £55m Inverurie Community Campus – one of the largest school construction projects in Scotland.

The £3m project is Deanestor’s largest ever contract in the education sector and was its third school fit out scheme for principal contractors, Robertson Construction.

Colourful and flexible seating options in Inverurie Campus

The project for Aberdeenshire Council was delivered by community infrastructure company hub North Scotland and will accommodate up to 1,600 primary and secondary school pupils.

Designed by architects Halliday Fraser Munro, the campus will also be home to St Andrews School for children with special educational needs.

Sensory-friendly breakout area designed for special educational needs students

Fitting Out More than 300 Rooms

Deanestor fitted out 360 rooms across the campus, including:

• Science, food and design technology departments

• Specialist SEN facilities

• General teaching spaces

• Sports and changing areas

• Reception

• Library

• Offices.

The room layouts reflect the latest thinking in curriculum delivery and colours are bright and modern throughout with an interior design scheme that links all internal learning spaces.

Flexible, modern classroom furniture designed by Deanestor for Inverurie Campus

The Furniture and Fitting Out Solution

Fitted furniture manufactured and fitted by Deanestor for the new campus included:

• Booth seating for the learning plazas, break-out spaces, café and social dining

• 1,950 metres of shelving

• 670 metres of laminate and laboratory worktops

• 400 base and wall storage units,

• Bag stores

• Over 84 primary and secondary teaching walls

• More than 500 items of metalwork

• 60 serviced units with power, data or water supplies – designed and manufactured by Deanestor for the laboratories.

Modern changing facilities fitted with durable benches and accessible storage

Minimising the Impact of the Covid19 Pandemic

To help the contractor and client address the challenges of the Covid lockdown, all the furniture was manufactured and stored by Deanestor ready for delivery and fitout when the site re-opened. This helped to minimise the impact of the current pandemic on the project completion.

Modern secondary science room with serviced units and durable surfaces

A Highly Complex Furniture and Fitout Project

The scale and complexity of the campus and the range of facilities that Deanestor fitted out demonstrates its capabilities and expertise in furniture manufacturing, procurement and project management. Deanestor’s designers worked closely with the design and construction team to implement the contemporary theme for the multi-purpose spaces and to deliver a really inspirational and innovative environment for learning and teaching.

Creative hubs and collaborative spaces furnished by Deanestor at Inverurie Campus

Deanestor supplied and installed around 6,000 other items for the Inverurie project including tables and chairs, retractable seating for a performance studio, 375 locker units, soft seating, changing facilities, mirrors, teaching aids, sinks and around 100 white goods.

Durable storage lockers installed for secondary pupils in modern school

Other items supplied by Deanestor range from machinery for craft, design and technology; sports and fitness equipment to sensory and Snoezelen therapeutic provision for the SEN school such as padded walls and floors, fibre optics, ball pit, trampolines and a water bed.

Multi-use sports hall with gym equipment for PE and extracurricular fitness

The Customer Perspective

Yunming Thomson, Design Director, Halliday Fraser Munro:

“We have had very positive feedback about the furniture. It was a clear client requirement to have the breakout areas and learning plazas well populated with a choice of seating. With Deanestor’s input, we have achieved a good variety of seating and storage options and in vibrant colours that work very well visually. We used a palette of greys for the fixed furniture and highlighted the colours for each learning zone with the flooring, seating and soft furnishings.”

“Deanestor did an excellent job of interpreting the client needs. The project has definitely exceeded our expectations and is an outstanding education facility.”

Spacious school dining hall fitted with modular tables and booth seating

Cllr Gillian Owen, Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee: “The quality of the learning environment at the new Inverurie Community Campus is second-to-none. It is absolutely brilliant to see young people now enjoying the facilities including the modern furniture. The colourful fitout is great.”

Deanestor-fitted learning plaza with mixed seating for collaborative study

Iain Loud, Senior Design Manager, Robertson Construction: “Deanestor met all our requirements for quality, cost, experience and strong financial stability. This was a fast-track project which needed an open and collaborative approach. Deanestor was happy to work with our client to develop the most appropriate level of specification within the available budget.”

“Their design team was terrific, very committed and happy to go above and beyond when needed to meet client needs.”

Flexible school breakout space with booth seating and vibrant soft furnishings

A Range of Amenities for the Local Community

Inverurie Campus provides a range of amenities for the wider community, including a youth café, community centre, gymnastics club, six-lane swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool, and other sports facilities. There are multiple community spaces, creative hubs, dispersed dining areas and learning plazas, as well as state-of-the-art teaching facilities.