University of St Andrews Biomolecular Sciences Building

Atelier Ten undertook the MEP design associated with the refurbishment of the Biomolecular Sciences building on the University of St Andrews’ North Haugh campus.

The building is underwent internal reconfiguration to meet the current
and future needs of the building and to provide state of the art research and undergraduate laboratory and support services accommodation.

The client’s brief was established through collaboration with all user groups at meetings and workshops. The brief was further refined to incorporate the specific requirements of each user group who included biology teaching and research, chemistry research, administration and building maintenance.

Generally, the existing MEP services installations were replaced throughout. The gas boilers were replaced in 2019 and will be retained.

Smart Building Technology is incorporated within the building to facilitate integration of occupancy with lighting and heating systems and provide geotagging systems.

Though the client was informed in relation to all aspects of the building, we have however found that there was a reliance on ‘term’ contractors to define certain aspects of the design. Close analysis of these aspects and liaison with specialist contractors has been an essential part of the design processed to date to reinforce and confirm client requirements.

Changes in regulations and work practices have sometimes been at a variance with the current client work practices and briefing, where these have been identified clear explanation of the deviation has been essential for client agreement.