Knockroon 21st Century Campus Success

02 March 2016

We are delighted to be part of the team who successfully bid to be the design team for the ambitious state-of-the-art Knockroon Learning and Enterprise Campus for East Ayrshire Council. Robert Potter and Partners are engaged by team leader Sheppard Robson as heritage consultants, and we bring local knowledge to the winning team.

The appointment is an important milestone in this £63.5m project and it follows an extensive procurement exercise undertaken by East Ayrshire Council in partnership with the Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland (RIAS).

No fewer than 26 companies submitted an expression of interest to undertake the work of designing the new school. Five companies were shortlisted and invited to present their strategy to deliver the project.

The procurement process itself was a departure from the norm, allowing local stakeholders to watch the process and give their impressions of what they had seen. This approach received positive feedback – even from an unsuccessful design team who wrote to say that it was, “a masterclass in professional procurement competition. Well organised, courteous, right balance, and prompt and insightful scoring and feedback.”

The brief for the work was based on the Council’s vision for the new campus: 21st century learning and teaching; nurture, support, inclusion and community access at its heart; a focus on health and wellbeing within the campus and enhanced outdoor facilities for the schools and for the local community.

We look forward to the next stages which involve a comprehensive public consultation, seeking the views of pupils, parents, community groups, local residents, businesses, sports clubs and other interested parties to influence the design of the campus.