Key learning and leisure spaces at Foresterhill and Hillhead have reopened following upgrading and RAAC removal works.
Following the discovery of RAAC concrete roof panels in facilities across our campuses, works have been taking place this summer to address these issues.
At Foresterhill, the Projects and Small Works team have completed a project to address the structural issues in the Polwarth Auditorium and to upgrade the space. Alongside roof repairs, the ceiling, lighting, acoustics, accessibility, and AV equipment were also upgraded as part of the project. This is the first comprehensive RAAC repair project to be completed and has provided a robust, cost-effective solution while minimising the downtime of the space. The project showed great collaboration across Estates and Facilities and with the School, Digital & Information Services (DIS), Finance, Procurement, and our term contractor North Group Ltd. Works were completed on time for the start of the first half-session, with the first medical students experiencing the new facility on Monday 9th September.
Meanwhile at Hillhead, various Estates and Facilities teams have worked together to complete works that mitigate the impact of RAAC and have seen the main reception reopened and some social and games spaces reinstated. As at Foresterhill, the works have been completed in a very short timescale and after extensive collaboration and timely decision making, with Estates and Facilities colleagues working alongside DIS and our term contractor North Group Ltd. The works were completed in time for the start of the first half-session, and the Hillhead team are delighted to welcome the 2024/25 cohort of students at the new facilities.
Congratulations go to everyone involved in both these projects, notably including Chris Forman who was heavily involved in both projects, John McManus and Mike Durno in the Projects Building Services team, John Hayes Electrical Clerk of Works in the Polwarth Auditorium project, Grant Paterson and Ryan Mackie from the Clerk of Works team, the Hillhead residential services team under the guidance of Chris Berry and Kirstin Annand, and numerous colleagues from other stakeholder groups, professional services teams and contractors.
These are two excellent examples of the directorate pulling together to deliver to tight timelines, support institutional priorities, and respond to the acute challenges that the discovery of RAAC has caused.
David Blackbourn, Head of the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition added: “We are delighted by and impressed with our newly refurbished auditorium. The quality of the learning and teaching experience for our students and our staff will be hugely improved with this facility and I’m grateful to our colleagues in Estates and Facilities, led by Paul Gormley, for bringing the project to completion on time for the return of our students, and importantly, on budget. Let me also extend my enormous gratitude to my colleagues who have managed to deliver an excellent student experience throughout the very difficult period that the auditorium was closed.”