Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush

Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush

Client: University of Edinburgh
Architect: BDG Architecture + Design
Cost: £30.0m

Creation of a new flagship building for The University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies accommodating a purpose-built teaching facility and associated offices.  The new facility constitutes a world-class environment for a full range of veterinary teaching, including lecture theatres, classrooms, seminar rooms, tutorial rooms and laboratories as well as a post-mortem and anatomy suite, situated beside existing and new veterinary hospital and research facilities on the same site.

The structural concept for the building reflects the intention to create a light and airy ambience whilst accommodating demanding building bespoke services and flexibility of layout. The material and form of construction take cognisance of the building’s function, purpose and status. The design has been formulated using a holistic approach including considerations of sustainability and environmental whole life costs.  Structural challenges included the founding of the building on poor soils, maintaining flexibility within a complex layout, interfaces between disparate building components within a complex geometric profile stepped levels and providing large column-free areas and accommodating significant building services.