Fife College is a new flagship learning environment within the Dunfermline Learning Campus comprising three interconnected buildings totalling nearly 20,000m². The completed campus provides state-of-the-art teaching and learning spaces for students, staff, businesses, and the wider community, including a dedicated Centre for Innovation and Events designed to support skills development and economic growth across Fife.

The project was the first tertiary education development delivered under the Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard (NZPSBS), setting a benchmark for low-carbon public-sector design in Scotland. From the outset, the campus was required to be net-zero ready, with very low operational energy demand and strict embodied carbon targets of no more than 650kgCO₂e/m² across the development.

Our involvement began at RIBA Stage 2, allowing us to influence the building services strategy at an early stage. Working closely with the design team and main contractor, Balfour Beatty, we helped shape a fully electrified M&E solution that eliminated fossil fuels and future-proofed the campus as Scotland’s electricity grid continues to decarbonise. Space heating is provided by air-source heat pumps, with domestic hot water generated by efficient electric systems tailored to different building uses. Natural and mixed-mode ventilation were prioritised, with mechanical systems used only where required, reducing energy demand while maintaining excellent indoor air quality.

A strong focus was placed on buildability, digital delivery, and off-site manufacturing. Rooftop plantrooms, electrical switch rooms, and risers were prefabricated off site in our factory in Stirling, improving quality, safety, and programme certainty. Installation was tracked using digital reality capture and laser scanning, enabling accurate coordination, performance modelling, and embodied carbon assessment as the project progressed.

Embodied carbon was carefully managed through material selection, efficient services design, and reduced on-site waste. All buildings operate entirely on electricity, delivering a highly efficient, resilient campus with reduced running costs.

As a pathfinder project for the NZPSBS, the Fife College Dunfermline Campus demonstrates how early collaboration, innovative services design, and modern construction methods can deliver high-performance, low-carbon learning environments that benefit both users and the wider community.