November 10 2021

East Dunbartonshire Council has taken possession of the latest in a series of early years centres following the handover of a new nursery in Bearsden by BakerHicks.

Delivered in partnership with Robertson Construction and Holmes Miller Architects the nursery seeks to prioritise indoor and outdoor space in the form of spacious play and learning zones tied to hi-tech classrooms.

Solar panels will provide clean energy for the operation of the nursery with BakerHicks carrying out a thermal and acoustics analysis to maximise performance.

Colin Lawrence, head of building services for Scotland at BakerHicks, said: “All services were specifically designed to maintain the integrity of the architectural design, with flexibility and sustainability front-of-mind, as well as being child-friendly, ensuring all systems are easy to operate and crucially, extremely safe.”

A sister early years centre in Milngavie opened its doors in May in tandem with a further facility in Kirkintilloch, following the extension of Killermont Primary and Nursery in Bearsden which rounds off this phase of provision with 348 learning spaces.

10 Comments

#1 Posted by Alexander OBrien on 10 Nov 2021 at 22:17 PM

I'm no architect or expert but this building deserves to be razed and the site looked at again.
A, cheap industrial unit design surrounded by wooden planks this and a similar disaster in Craigdhu Road Milngavie must rank as the worst ever public buildings erected recently in the area.

#2 Posted by Ross Mitchell on 11 Nov 2021 at 08:44 AM

#1 I don't mind them saving money when it comes to public buildings, but are you saying these are not fit for purpose?

#3 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 11 Nov 2021 at 13:46 PM

The design makes an effort to do a lot with seemingly little resources.

Good to see that the designers have taken onboard that we live in a very wet country and putting a roof -- basic if that is all that can be afforded -- over as much area as possible is seen as being the way forward.

Plus we have the contrast of Audi owners dropping their children off at an industrial quality portal steel shed -- do these things exist in Bearsden?

My main gripe is the fact that it has a capacity for 348 as a nursery -- the staffing numbers will be large and the parking provision must be similar to a secondary school.

Also the traffic in the surrounding streets must be problematic when it comes to the drop off and pick up rush hour?

Stack-a-pleb dynamic at work -- surely there must be a human element / scale in play for early years provision

#4 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 11 Nov 2021 at 13:53 PM

UR -- is the 348 capacity figure credible?
Is this the number across a number of projects in ED?

#5 Posted by UR on 11 Nov 2021 at 14:09 PM

Sorry, yes. The 348 spaces are for Bearsden, Lairdsland & Oakburn combined - plus Killermont.

#6 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 11 Nov 2021 at 15:30 PM

Phew -- that was close.
Traffic carnage averted.
Still like the indoor space.

#7 Posted by Elongated Tusk on 11 Nov 2021 at 15:37 PM

This has a steady stream of traffic often at standstill about 5 meters away from it. I'd not be sending my little lord Tarquin for his early encounters with education with those landrover fumes.

#8 Posted by Farmer Joe on 11 Nov 2021 at 22:41 PM

Stick a chute in a draughty barn and lock the door. Pick the kids back up at 3pm.

Next time get an architect to design the space.

#9 Posted by Rosie O'Neil on 12 Nov 2021 at 09:48 AM

Until this year, Bearsden had no custom-built nursery and a lack of provision. Now it has a custom built nursery. So, that's good. Is it near the town centre? Yes, and good, but that means a busy road. Unfortunately, there is no by-pass. People have different views on aesthetics. I like it. The wooden slats fit well with the leafy surroundings. The only thing that is wrong is the inaccurate stereotyping, name-calling and general disrespect for people that some commentators here and on other online boards display.

#10 Posted by Nairn's Bairn on 12 Nov 2021 at 12:53 PM

#8 Farmer Joe - BakerHicks and Holmes Miller are both staffed with architects, so presumably it was architect designed.

That's why the steel portal shed has been enclosed in a wooden cage - its been fully architected.

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