Deanestor wins fit-out contract for £68m campus

Deanestor will manufacture and install the fixed furniture for the £68m school project, which is due to open in October.

The £68m scheme, which has been designed by Sheppard Robson, is the largest capital project ever undertaken by East Ayrshire Council. It will consolidate five schools into one campus, creating a centre for education for 2,500 students and 300 staff.

Four linked structures will accommodate a secondary school for 1,633 pupils, a 517-pupil primary school, a 119-place early childhood centre for children aged two to four, an 80-place supported learning centre, 30 additional places for children with special educational needs, and a sports centre.

Deanestor is fitting out 324 rooms across the 22,000m² campus. Its contract includes the manufacture and installation of bespoke fitted furniture. There will be 117 learning walls, 1,800 base and wall storage cabinets, 1,200m of shelving, 1,500m of linear worktops, 100 lockers, benching for the sports centre, adjustable-height tables across the campus to meet DDA requirements, and kitchens for three food technology laboratories, as well as staff kitchenettes and a kitchen for the life-skills room.

John Allan, project director at Morrison Construction, said, “Deanestor’s tender was competitive on price and they were able to achieve our programme. They have a good reputation both in the education sector and in Scotland and are a valued member of the Morrison supply chain. Our requirement is for fitted furniture that is robust and built-to-last for this high-quality flagship school campus.”

Ramsay McDonald, managing director of Deanestor Scotland, said, “We are delighted to be working on our sixth project for Morrison Construction in the past three years. This latest contract follows a detailed assessment which looked at our financial stability and our skills, track record and technical expertise to deliver a project of this complexity and scale. This is a challenging fit-out project that required intensive design resources to achieve a cost plan that matched the design intent. We are looking forward to contributing to an exemplar teaching and learning environment that will enable every child to reach their full potential.”

Ryan McMonagle, project architect at Sheppard Robson, said, “The Deanestor team performed really well at the initial design stages with good engagement, a positive and collaborative approach, and a thorough knowledge of the technical requirements for education furniture which has added value to the project.”

The modular learning walls will be manufactured by Deanestor in multiple widths and 20 different configurations and colourways to suit each year group. These will accommodate a combination of features such as central interactive screen, whiteboard doors, integrated teaching desk, built-in bag storage, storage trays, base and wall cupboards, open shelving and sinks.

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