Framing Complete

While the bulk of the work recently has been all about erecting the steel frame for the new building, some other works have been going on inside which you wont have seen. Firstly, the inside of the old admin corridor has now been completely 'gutted'. New stud partition walls will be installed to improve the building's acoustic performance and will work more sympathetically with the new roofing structure.


The first picture below shows the new cable containment racking which is being installed above the false ceiling. The picture is taken from what would have been the sector secretaries office looking towards the end of admin corridor.




From a slightly different angle, those with good eyesight will notice the tiled wall which would have been part of the toilets in the admin corridor.



Finally, looking in the other direction is all that is left of June's and Elaine's offices. These will shortly be rebuilt/refurbished to a similar size.



Over the past 7 weeks, some 4,000 steel components - weighing in at 400 tonnes - have been erected to form the shape of the new building. The picture below is the view from the front entrance. Reception will be on the right.

Looking through the steelwork below, you will notice the two mezzanine areas. The left hand one will house one of the main staff workrooms along with the conference room, Principal's office, management and sector secretaries offices.

Comparing the two pictures below, the architects drawing shows how the structure is being formed and what the finished product will look like. The coffee shop will be on the right hand side mezzanine deck - just round the corner!

Below, Gordon surveys the new structure looking down the new corridor outside the G corridor. The lower architects drawing shows the same completed corridor looking from the other end.

Looking into the main atrium below, a lightwell will be installed to the east of the highest steelwork. This will provide lots of natural light to the surrounding areas. Roof sheeting is also being installed in an attempt to have the building wind proof and watertight by the end of January.

The scaffolding at the front of the building provides safe access on to the roof structure. Unfortunately the weather over the past two weeks has stalled the installation of the roof sheeting.

Rim from Inverurie manufactured and installed the steelwork. The photos below shows once of the last pieces of the highest steelwork being craned into position. Cherry-pickers are then used to bolt the steelwork into position.

Secondary steelwork is then secured ready for the roof sheeting to be installed. This picture is looking into the main atrium from the east. The curved area on the left will be the library/

flexi/ client services areas and the Boardroom is upstairs in centre-shot.

The height of the new building is one of the most striking features. Roof lights will ensure that natural light floods most areas and will improve solar heat gain - helping to reduce energy bills. We hope to install solar photovoltaic cells on top of this area of roof early next year.

The picture below again looks onto the library area and above it, the mezzanine deck housing the coffee shop, Student Association office and employability area. Towards the top right of the picture, spiderman keeps a watchful eye over proceedings!

Final full height steelwork being craned and bolted together.

The final shots below show the mezzanine floor steel sheeting installed. Ready and waiting for non- sub-zero temperatures to allow the concrete floors to be poured. The lower picture is of part of the existing building which remains and shows how the concrete sets to form the floor.

Next month, I hope to show the concrete floors being poured and the building moving towards windproof and watertight completeness.

Thanks to Neil Cowie for providing many of the quality pictures above!

The shape of things to come....

Over the past month, there have been exciting developments in our construction project. The October holidays gave us an opportunity to tidy up loose ends and push on with the erection of the main steel structure.

All 12.5 tonnes of the rusting pink container outside motor vehicle was dispatched to 'pastures-new' - namely the local scrapyard!

Concerns were raised about safe pedestrian access to the rear areas of the campus and in response, a new path has been installed.

To the front of the building, a new kerb line has been installed inside the main car park and new street lighting columns erected along Henderson Rd opposite the new bus drop-off point.

Preparations commenced for the main steelwork installation. A channel was excavated from the central courtyard to allow cranes and steel trucks to access and egress the area without being affected by the reduced height of the entrance between catering and hairdressing.

Rim (main steelwork contractor from Inverurie) - arrived on site with their crane shortly after.

The first challenge was to modify the existing front entrance steelwork so that the new steel could be tied in.

Once complete, new galvanised columns were installed to the front of the building and will be one of the main features of the front entrance. The second picture shows how they are secured at the base with large fixings bolted to the concrete foundation pads.

The front entrance steelwork is now largely complete. Note the large light holes in the roof which will be another architectural feature. The second image is the original architects impression, prior to construction.

2 cranes are currently on site in order to accelerate the steelwork installation. The front entrance is now stretching round to the staff work rooms (on two levels), and the library/flexi centre area.

Below is a picture of the staff workroom steelwork next to the gym hall and upstairs refectory.

A close-up of the front entrance better illustrates the scale of the building. The revolving entrance doors will fit below the horizontal beam to the bottom of the photo. Above will all be toughened glass.

Over the next 4-5 weeks, the remaining steelwork will be installed from west to east along the main atrium area. Sheeting will commence next week in parallel with the steel installation.

Back in the game.....

Following our summer demolition programme, both staff and students have now safely taken up residence again in the main building.

Many of you will have noticed the new contractors entrance off Henderson Road. Lots of signage has been added promoting safety and, as seen below, the Considerate Constructor's details.

The Considerate Constructors Scheme is the national initiative, set up by the construction industry, to improve its image.

Sites and companies that register with the Scheme, sign up and are monitored against a Code of Considerate Practice, designed to encourage best practice beyond statutory requirements.

Check out www.ccscheme.org.uk for further information.

The Scheme is concerned about any area of construction activity that may have a direct or indirect impact on the image of the industry as a whole. The main areas of concern fall into three main categories: the environment, the workforce and the general public.


Anyone requiring entry to the site must be appropriately dressed with PPE and sign in at the security hut on the left, where.....

Douglas will welcome you.



Robertson's site works have meant that to the rear of the building, traffic is now two way. The road was widened over the summer and new signage installed (see sign on the left).

Outside the B Corridor, a new path has been installed to meet with Building Control requirements. Some temporary landscaping has also taken place to tidy things up. The temporary fencing will be removed once the grass is established.

Most of the recent works inside the main campus is in preparation for the steelwork arrival (due 11th October 2010). Type 1 (gravel) will be arriving later this week to raise the ground level to just below floor level.

To make ready for the structural steel, steel reinforcing is dropped into trenches before concrete fills the holes.

Where the structural steel is to be installed, holding down bolts are inserted before the concrete is poured. The cones enable some flexibility in terms of hole positions when the steel is lowered into position.

Once the cement is poured, only the bolts are visible.

Steelwork is already in place along at the catering end of the building. This was required to support the new services racking on the roof.

The front entrance will be the next section to have structural steelwork installed. This is when the shape and size of the new building will become much more apparent. The building should be windproof and watertight by the end of January 2011 (all going according to plan!)

On the roof, bridges have been installed so that contractors can cross over the service racking without risking damage to the installed services.

One of the key environmental improvements to the new building is a ground/air heat exchanger which will pump warm air into the building after it has circulated around a pipe network stretching out into the football field to the rear of the building. Excavations have begun to check the ground conditions.

Tune in next month to see if the steelwork has arrived!!!

Demolition complete - August 2010

We are now in week 12 of an aggressive 15 week summer window. The challenge is to complete this part of the programme before students return back after the summer and I am pleased at how well things have progressed. The demolition is largely complete and we have managed to salvage the things we wanted to - like the greenhouse.

Demolition is always a risky time as you are never quite sure how the existing building will stand up after almost 30 years of the Fraserburgh micro-climate along with general wear and tear. With the exception of some water ingress during the 'monsoon' season - we have come through it relatively unscathed.

And now some pictures to show you how it looks....

Fowlies performed the majority of the demolition works. First the front entrance was cut in half

Scaffolding was erected to enable the front entrance to be demolished

Then block by block and sheet by sheet, the front entrance was de-constructed.

A Few Good Men! - Fowlie's finest ready to spring into action!

While the demolition continued outside, asbestos removal was carried out inside with incredible care, everything carefully sealed off and ongoing air testing. T11 below...

Air tight tents are formed around all asbestos being removed. And everything is meticulously cleaned and tested before the tent is taken down.

To allow the demolition to continue without interruption, a temporary server room was created next to the janitors store. The new Mitel IP phone system was installed by Spiritel at the same time. Note Euan trying to remember whether its the red wire or the blue wire.....

On top of the building a new services containment system has been installed. Affectionately known as 'big-foot' it carries heating, plumbing and electrical services around the roof of the building which are then dropped down into different areas.

....and now with the pipes in place.

The flexible learning centre was craned out during late June. Robertsons are going to use it as their site huts for the duration of the project before re-siting it for us in a permanent location. Note the size of the main crane (300 tonnes) compared to its little brother to the right. Some said it couldn't be done! (Pictures courtesy of Keith Bruce).

Now in place in the contractors compound at the rear of the College, Robertsons will use the flexi centre as their main site offices.

In the central area of the college, the ground was levelled off using imported materials.


Check out the size!!!! This pic gives the best illustration of the size that the main atrium will ultimately be. And remember, there will be two floors! The R Corridor below is now 'al fresco' which went a bit further than the original plans had indicated. Complexity in installing crash decking made this a better solution. Access to the gym hall is now via the ladies changing rooms. A new entrance will ensure privacy!

The first of the steelwork went up in early August between the catering area and the hairdressing block. This element was installed early to allow services around the building to be completed.

To the West of the building, next to the side car park, a large water attenuation tank has been buried. This will prevent any flood waters from over-filling the drainage system by allowing a controlled release of water. The tank is now covered over and no-one will know its there!

See? Now we just need the grass to grow!

Once the ground had been levelled off, new drainage could be installed across the middle section.

Meanwhile inside the College, Euan became the proud owner of a shiny new server room which has just been handed over to us. This used to be the Finance office, but now has a raised floor installed (to allow for fibres and CAT6 cabling) and has been completely refurbished including blocking up the window. Those of you with good eyesight might notice Alex trying to get into the picture underneath the new server racks.

More to follow next month!