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Alloa's Redwell Primary to move on site

May 24 2013

Alloa's Redwell Primary to move on site
Work to deliver a new primary school in Alloa is to commence on-site following the award of an £8m design and build contract to Robertson.

Redwell Primary is being delivered by Robertson on behalf of hub East Central Scotland to replace the existing St John’s and Claremont Primaries and will include 15 classrooms accommodating 430 pupils.

Plans drawn up by Keppie Design envisage a new build on playing fields at Stirling Road with an adjoining 80 place nursery.

Derek Shewan, managing director for Robertson Construction Group, said: “We look forward to working in partnership with Clackmannanshire Council and the local community to deliver a project which will affect the lives of many of the region’s young people.”

The school is due to open its doors in August 2014.
Construction is expected to take just 13 months
Construction is expected to take just 13 months

4 Comments

David
#1 Posted by David on 24 May 2013 at 15:18 PM
There is a lot of very exciting new school building going on throughout Scotland, both primary and secondary. Sadly though, this appears on the face of it to hark back to the bad old days of PPP and a serious lack of ambition from all involved. I know it's only 2 elevations and a 3D image but it looks thoroughly depressing and cost driven. I don't want to Keppie bash like others on here as they do produce some good stuff now and again, but this is clearly not up there. Disappointed at a potential miss.
Rod
#2 Posted by Rod on 26 May 2013 at 10:21 AM
Its very easy to talk about lack of ambition when its not your money and your not paying the bills. 
I would ask how many designers actually live in houses that they consider to have design ambition ?
The truth is very few as they dont generraly have the cash to put their own money where thier mouth is. 
What im saying is this project is obviously constrained by budget which has had an impact on "design ambition". 
Like it or not this is the way things are going. Standardisation of designs and other methods to drive down costs are the future and you can either embrace the process or twiddle your thumbs. 
Sadly neither Hollyrood (or Westminster) has the cold hard cash to be ambitious. 
David
#3 Posted by David on 28 May 2013 at 16:43 PM
'Sadly neither Hollyrood (or Westminster) has the cold hard cash to be ambitious.'

...that's a very negative statement to make. Are you saying it's justifiable not to bother trying to create something worthy which shows a bit of ambition because purse strings are tight? Surely it's times like this that architects should be showing the true values of creative thought and how they can meaningfully contribute to successful design. Or do we just throw in the towel and say this design we're going to give you won't be very good because you don't really have very much money to spend on it?
Rod
#4 Posted by Rod on 28 May 2013 at 20:12 PM
Sadly i agree that its a very negative comment. Unfortunatly you wont get the opportunity to create something "worthy" as the budget constraints will dictate otherwise. Schools design in Britain is heading along a road of standardisation to the point where you wont need Architects as we know them today.

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