Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading school fitout specialists, has been awarded its largest contract to date in the education sector — a £5m project for BAM to manufacture furniture and fit out the two high schools on the Dunfermline Learning Campus.
The Deanestor team will supply and install more than 42,000 items of loose and fitted furniture for St Columba’s RC High School and Woodmill High School — that are relocating to Dunfermline Learning Campus in Fife.
Due to open by Summer 2024, the high school project is part of a wider learning campus development, which also sees the construction of the new Fife College. The schools project is being delivered by the Council’s partner, hub East Central Scotland.
Designed by AHR, AECOM and Rybka, the 27,000sqm scheme is one of the UK’s largest Passivhaus education buildings. The architectural design is based on Passivhaus standards to improve internal comfort levels and reduce energy consumption and life cycle maintenance.
The transformational facilities will offer a consolidated approach to learning and life skills that will support a clearer pathway from secondary education to training, further education and into employment.
The new co-located high schools will retain their independence and identities with shared core facilities, such as assembly halls, dining space, outdoor education zones, and multi-purpose sports pitches.
Ramsay McDonald, Managing Director for Deanestor in Scotland, said: “This is our largest school fit out contract to date and we are even more thrilled that it is local to our Scottish headquarters in Dunfermline. We are pleased to be playing our part in such a visionary and ambitious education scheme which will provide world class facilities for students, the local community, and businesses across the region.”
Deanestor will manufacture a range of education furniture for the new high schools, including teaching walls, storage solutions, worktops, shelving, and kitchen units. Its team will fit out over 500 rooms across both schools and the shared facilities.
The interior design theme is based around the principles of openness, connectivity, and inclusiveness. The colour palette will reflect the branding and identities of both schools and will use greys and muted shades of green and blue to echo the local landscape, the history of Fife, its industrial heritage, and growth of the area. The fitted furniture and joinery from Deanestor will be finished in white and different tones of grey.
The new campus will have a wide range of facilities including learning plazas to promote collaboration, digitally-enabled learning zones, outdoor learning areas, break-out booths for individual study, and a pioneering learning lab featuring performance analysis, media studio, recording booth, food technology, and extensive creative project space.
Deanestor manufactures and installs robust and flexible loose and fixed furniture solutions for early years, primary, SEN, and secondary education, fitting out areas such as classrooms, science laboratories, ICT, design and technology, atria, social dining spaces, break-out areas, sports facilities, and changing rooms.
Header image credit: AHR
