A college education facility designed for students studying construction subjects with environmental best practice has won the award for sustainable design at this year’s Scottish Design Awards held in Edinburgh last week.

ECOSpace, designed by architects RMJM, is a highly sustainable training workshop run by Carnegie College in Dunfermline, which has been open since September 2006.

The £2.2m centre aims to lead the way in training students in sustainable construction and encourages the integration of environmentally sustainable work practices such as waste reduction, re-use of materials, procurement of renewable resources and minimisation of energy consumption.

Paul Rodgers, RMJM Director, said: "We’re delighted that ECOSpace has been recognised for its highly sustainable credentials by the Scottish Design Awards.

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"ECOSpace is an exemplar project which reflects the nature of the facility in its design and winning the award for the most sustainable design is great for the college and everyone connected with the project."

The design of the centre reflects the ambition and purpose of the facility. It is the first of its kind in the UK and is built from renewable materials and incorporates renewable energy systems that reduce the energy consumption of the building and its impact on the environment.

Alan Huey, Head of School of Built Environment, Carnegie College, commended the building for its ability to give students first hand experience of an environmentally sustainable workplace with green practices including waste reduction, reuse of materials, procurement of renewable resources and energy use minimisation.

"The physical structure benefits from a state of the art building management system and monitoring devices which enable students and visitors to see the energy efficiency of the building compared to the other parts of our campus. Students now recognise the benefits of a sustainable building - something they will take with them to the workplace and benefit communities of the future," he said

The facility also features a suite of restoration workshops that train craftspeople from across Scotland, helping to boost the number of people practising traditional crafts in the construction industry.

(GK/NS)