Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School sets Passivhaus record

 

Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School, on Dunfermline Learning Campus, prioritises wellbeing, collaboration and community inclusion in what is the UK’s largest Passivhaus education building. 

 

Uniting Woodmill High School and St Columba’s RC High School, its new learning spaces and high-quality facilities are available to pupils and the wider community. With distinct visual markers and separate entrances, the two schools operate independently, showcasing their individual identities, but drawing strength from shared spaces.

 

Organised around a double height shared ‘heart’, the building is divided into three distinct massing blocks: one for each school and a shared central space connecting them – providing clarity of function, ownership and area use. 

 

As well as being built to achieve Passivhaus classic status, the project is a Scottish Futures Trust pathfinder project, adopting the Net Zero Public Building Standard. Operational carbon is targeted to 61-66kWh/m², surpassing the SFT’s goal of 67kWh/m², with an embodied carbon figure of 626kg/Co2e/m².

To meet Passivhaus standards, three key criteria were applied:

 

• North/south orientation optimises solar control and gains.

• Simplified building massing achieved an efficient form factor.

• Stringent airtightness targets, ground conditions, buildability and room functionalities influenced the selection of a hybrid building frame consisting of precast concrete for the main building, a cross laminated timber sports block and  central core areas constructed of steel.