Case study The Engine Shed

© Max Fordham

The Engine Shed is Scotland’s building conservation centre. Created and managed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), it promotes engagement with traditional buildings and educates people about the skills and materials required to build, conserve and maintain them.

Housed in a redundant MOD Engine Shed with new wings, the project created a new sustainable building showcasing traditional craft and natural materials. The scheme aimed to shift the view of conservation and heritage from being something of the past to something engaging, interesting, contemporary and fun.

The objective for the building was to create a new and dynamic centre, combining both a visitor attraction and a space for learning and engagement with built heritage. HES's brief was for a mix of technology, sustainability and tradition, to create a building showcasing the use of natural materials and traditional crafts, bringing together HES Science, Digital Scanning and Outreach & Education teams.

The ethos of railway and industrial buildings was taken as the starting point for the design, with the intention to keep the original shed as a single volume, putting reception areas, offices, work spaces and ancillary accommodation into the new wings.

HES used a bespoke Sustainability Matrix as part of the tendering process, to convey the sustainability aspirations of the project brief to prospective bidding parties. The Sustainability Matrix, which had several elements in the ‘Pioneering’ range, was then used to aid the design development and decision-making process for the project.

HES’s aim from the outset was for the project to be an exemplar in terms of sustainability: from design and construction to the ongoing operation and management of the building.

The environmental design includes a ground source heat pump and underfloor heating, allowing for sensitive insertion into the existing building. The acoustics input included the integration of a lecture theatre pod within the larger volume of a workshop/exhibition space; the acoustic design balances flexibility with the provision of acoustic isolation of the lecture theatre from surrounding spaces.

The Engine Shed opened for public use in 2017. Since opening, aftercare has included monitoring and reporting on energy and building performance and overseeing fine tuning.

The Engine Shed was shortlisted for the CIBSE Building Performance Awards 2018 and was awarded "Soft Landings Project of the Year (up to £20m)" at the 2019 BSRIA Soft Landing Awards.

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