FES was appointed by BAM Construction as the MEP delivery partner for the new Blairgowrie Recreation Centre, Scotland’s first leisure centre built to rigorous Passivhaus standards. The project created a state-of-the-art, low-energy facility designed for both community use and Blairgowrie High School’s physical education programme.

The centre includes a 25-metre swimming pool, multi-court sports halls, a fitness suite, dance studio, classrooms, offices, and a floodlit outdoor pitch. Every element was designed with sustainability and comfort in mind. The building’s layout makes use of natural sunlight to help heat the pool area, while high levels of insulation and airtight construction reduce energy demand and carbon emissions.

FES delivered the full mechanical, electrical and public health services, integrating advanced systems such as heat recovery ventilation, air source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels, and a sophisticated building management system for remote monitoring. These features work together to maintain comfort for users while minimising energy use and operating costs.

The project required close collaboration and careful coordination, particularly due to the prefabricated timber structure and the need to maintain airtightness for Passivhaus certification. Early planning and digital design were key to achieving a seamless installation.

The project set a new benchmark for sustainable leisure buildings in Scotland and demonstrated the value of early engagement, technical expertise, and teamwork.

The Burrell Renaissance Project will revitalise the museum for existing and new audiences and ensure that the world-class Collection and its architecturally significant home are safeguarded for the future. Nearly half of the funding for the £68.25 million project was committed by Glasgow City Council with more than a quarter coming from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and significant donations from The Scottish Government, the UK Government, and from many generous trusts and private donors.

The £68m project has added an addition 1,000 sqm concourse, along with a play scape and café terrace. Located in Pollok Country Park, it will reveal a greener, expanded space giving visitors access to over a third more of the building. The project has created new gallery space meaning 90% of the collections are now accessible, compared to just 20% previously. The expansion makes for a total of 225 displays spread across 24 galleries, with an updated digital offering including video walls, interactives and hybrid systems.

A new roof, glazing and cladding, and more efficient power, heating and lighting systems have been added to enhance its energy performance and provide a stable environment for the Collection. The changes made to the fabric of the building to make it more air tight and water tight, and new glazing make it far less susceptible to changes in heat, and the upgrades of plant and systems means the building is far more efficient, and able to take advantage of new technologies in the future to lessen its impact further.

FES was delighted to have delivered the complex and specialist Building Engineering Services packages, including Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing installations, on this prestigious building. 

Johnnie Walker Princes Street is a major visitor experience in the centre of Edinburgh, created as part of Diageo’s £185m investment in Scotch whisky tourism. The attraction transformed a historic former department store into a modern, multi-sensory destination, offering immersive storytelling, tasting experiences, rare whisky casks, and exceptional hospitality spaces with panoramic rooftop views across the city.

FES was appointed as MEP partner for this landmark project, delivering the full mechanical, electrical, and public health works. This included complete replacement of legacy building infrastructure and the installation of new systems to support advanced audio-visual displays, bespoke lighting, exhibition technology and operational hospitality facilities across eight floors.

A major component of the brief was the development of programmable lighting and environmental control systems that enable the experience to continually adapt and evolve. FES engineered lighting, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions that could serve both precision-controlled whisky environments and high-traffic public spaces, whilst maintaining comfort and operational resilience throughout. Sustainability was a core priority, with the project opening with a Green Tourism Gold Award, supported by energy-efficient systems, smart controls, rooftop planting, sedum roofs and biodiversity enhancements.

Delivered through the pandemic period and within a listed city centre structure, this project demanded exceptional coordination and problem-solving. Working collaboratively with creative, contractor, and client teams, FES helped enable a world-class visitor attraction that blends heritage, technology, and future-forward storytelling.

The new £333million TECA has the largest fuel cell installation in the UK and on a par with the largest in Europe.

The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA) is a multi-hundred million pound project that aims to attract millions of visitors a year on top of maintaining a low-carbon footprint through the use of renewable and sustainable energy technology.  TECA is expected to contribute an additional 4.5 million visitors, £113 million of visitor spend and £63m net GVA to the Scottish economy. It will also result in the creation of 352 full-time-equivalent permanent positions by year 10 of operations.

The core of TECA will function on the nation’s largest hydrogen fuel cell installation. The hydrogen fuel cells run on low-emission hydrogen fuels and have a total electrical output of 1.4MW, on par with some of the largest hydrogen fuel cell installations in Europe offering an independent source of reliable, affordable, low-emission heat and power for the 150-acre site. Hydrogen power-sources are beginning to take the forefront in renewable technologies, something that FES is proud to be a part of.

Adding to this renewable source of energy is an anaerobic power-plant that will use food waste, agricultural crops and other waste to produce biofuel that will be used to feed electricity into TECA.

The energy centre includes the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 3no 460kW Purecell® Hydrogen fuel cell units, natural gas boilers, 1200kWe CHP, absorption chillers, chilled water chillers, control system and associated equipment.

 The HV infrastructure works include a high voltage point of connection, high voltage ring main and associated substations, transformers and switchgear. This included the design of a 33kV substation to SSE adoptable standards.

The SSE Hydro Arena, designed by world-renowned architects Foster+Partners, forms part of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC). The addition of the arena has transformed the site into a nationally significant exhibition, conference and entertainment pavilion. 

The first purpose-built concert venue of its scale, the SSE Hydro Arena offers a combined seated and standing capacity of up to 13,000 and will play host to around 140 events each year, including entertainment from national and international celebrities and performers as well as major sporting events.

FES played a key role in the realisation of this flagship venue, providing electrical services including HV/LV distribution equipment and cabling; 3nr HV sub-stations and associated cabling; small power; fire safety; data and communications systems; feature lighting, general lighting and lighting controls.

The arena stands at 45m high with a layout modelled on Greek and Roman amphitheatres and is now a prominent landmark on the Glasgow city skyline. By night, visitors to the venue are greeted by its distinctive, translucent skin (ETFE), installed by FES, which can glow 12.8 million different colours.

FES provided the Electrical Services including HV and LV distribution equipment, small power and lighting, emergency lighting central battery system, lighting controls, IT infrastructure, fire alarms and security systems.

Substantial tunnels, up to 3.5m deep, beneath the floor are the main routes to carry the building services infrastructure such as power and lighting, security cameras and IT cables. These feed into a discreet rail of services running the length of the museum walls.

The communication of the complex geometry and setting out of the steel structure was a key challenge for the entire team. To overcome this challenge, 3D modelling was utilised by all team members for both design development and construction information.

Both the front and rear elevations are designed to have an expansive clear façade with a large overhang, reducing solar exposure to the building interior. The rear elevation provides views up and down the Clyde. A key feature is the spectacular pleated and curved metal roof which houses a low energy heating and cooling system hidden within the fabric of the building.

Councillor Gordon Matheson on the opening ceremony stated: “The Riverside Museum is a breath-taking new home for our internationally-renowned transport collection.”

“The exhibits inside this magnificent new building have been given a further lease of life thanks to some stunning new displays that not only show off the trains, cars, trams and bikes, but also tell the stories of the people who made them, bought them, used them and loved them.”

FES worked closely with Sir Robert McAlpine to deliver this state of the art building in time for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

The world-class sports complex, one of the largest of its type in Europe, was home to the highly successful 2014 Commonwealth Games. The flexible Sports Arena includes three main sports halls with 5,000 spectator seats, dance and fitness studios and 200-metre indoor athletics track.

The adjoining Velodrome, which was opened by multi-gold medal-winning Olympian and Commonwealth Games champion, Sir Chris Hoy, has a 250-metre track and permanent seating for 2,500 spectators, with a further 2,000 temporary seats for the 2014 Games. It was the scene of many of the victories which gave the Australian cycling team its dominant position by the end of the games, with 24 medals. A central administration block also incorporates hospitality suites and offices for the national sports federations. 

FES provided the Electrical Services for the following: Containment systems, LV distribution and associated equipment, Standby generator, General power, Event Lighting, General Lighting (internal / external), Lighting controls, Central Battery System – Emergency Lighting, PA/VE, HV installation, Data/Wi-Fi, Fire and Security, Disabled alarms and Disabled refuge systems.

Councillor Archie Graham, Executive Member for the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow City Council, said: “The construction of the National Indoor Sports Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome is another landmark towards the creation of a world-class sporting complex for Glasgow. The arena and velodrome will be seen around the world when the badminton and indoor cycling events of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games are held here. There will be many other top-class sporting events held at the venue, with fantastic facilities for users to improve their health and fitness, and this will undoubtedly be a fantastic asset to Glasgow and Scotland.”

The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA) is a major redevelopment created to replace the former Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre and strengthen Aberdeen’s position as a world-class events destination. Covering 48,000 sqm, the complex includes a 12,500-capacity arena, multiple exhibition and conference halls, hotels, a subterranean events space, landscaped public realm and extensive supporting infrastructure. The development is expected to attract millions of visitors and deliver long-term economic benefit to the region and Scotland as a whole.

FES was appointed as Mechanical, Electrical and Utilities Contractor, delivering a fully integrated MEP solution utilising in-house digital engineering and prefabrication capability. Our scope included complete mechanical and electrical systems, BIM model development, building services for public safety and resilience, site-wide utilities, district heating, energy systems and infrastructure across the full 150-acre site.

A key feature of the project was the dedicated Energy Centre, designed to provide efficient, low-emission energy supply across TECA and its associated hotels. Housing three 460kW Purecell® combined cooling, heat and power units, it also supports an innovative hydrogen fuel cell initiative linked to public transport — future-facing and aligned with Aberdeen’s net zero ambitions.

By combining early design engagement, off-site manufacture and highly coordinated digital delivery, FES improved installation certainty, reduced risk and ensured a consistently high quality of installation. This approach played a major role in the successful delivery of one of the UK’s most ambitious venue developments, positioning Aberdeen as a leading international conference and events location.

FES was delighted to have been appointed as the Mechanical and Electrical Contractor for this very prestigious project. The building is a three-storey structure, with curving concrete walls and 2,500 pre-cast rough stone panels, weighing up to 3000 kg each and spanning up to 4m wide, which are hung on the walls to create the appearance of a Scottish cliff face. There are 21 separate wall sections, with no straight external walls. V&A Dundee is an impressive 8,000m² building, with 1,650m² of gallery space.

A Low and Zero Carbon Technologies study was undertaken as part of the project’s BREEAM obligation to identify the most appropriate form of renewable energy for the building. Varieties of options were considered, resulting in geothermal energy being identified as the most appropriate solution.

Thirty 200-metre deep bore-holes form part the system for the heating and cooling of the building, supplemented by air source heat pumps on the roof. These provide direct renewable energy for the museum, with 800,000kWh/annum of heating and 500,000kWh/annum of cooling. The project will achieve the BREEAM Excellent category as a recognised measure of sustainability.

A major success on this project has been the early appointment of FES and our active involvement in the Design process influencing technical solutions to meet the complex building layouts for main spine distribution and plant locations. This was developed by using Digital Technology for co-ordination with multi-service modules manufactured off-site at our Pre-Fabrication Facility.