RSP Consulting Engineers

RSP were commissioned by Ayr College as Building Services Designers and BREEAM Assessors for their new state-of-the-art aircraft engineering teaching centre. Opened in October 2011, the 12,000 sq ft facility includes laboratories, classrooms and an aircraft hangar for students to carry out practical engineering work.

A feature of the building is the passive ventilation system which incorporates air movement over a lightweight aircraft wing. The curve of the wing forces air up towards the clerestory from the entrance and lower atrium, where an area of low pressure exhaust pulls the dirty air from the building.

Part of the brief was to ensure that the rooms were as versatile as possible, both for current and future use. The project brief was to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating. This target was achieved by the incorporation of solar panels providing hot water to the building, excellent energy performance and other energy saving devices.