A new £2m nursery for staff and students has been unveiled at the University of Aberdeen.

The Rocking Horse Nursery facility will be the first fully certified Passivhaus (Passive House) building in a Scottish university.

It is also the first pre-school facility in Scotland to adopt the demanding energy-efficient design concept.

The development is expected to be the first building in Scotland to achieve the combination of Passivhaus accreditation and be awarded 'Excellent' in the BREEAM industry-standard ratings scheme.

Designed by BMJ Architects and developed by Burns Construction, the building will cater for 78 children from small babies to five-year-olds.


It will be surrounded by landscaping and excellent opportunities for outdoor activity, including a walled garden for the children to explore and enjoy.

The Nursery foundations are surrounded by 120mm of insulation, with a further 300mm under the floor. The structure contains 295mm of insulation in the walls and 420mm in the roof.

The building is also designed to use minimal energy through the design of the internal fabric. Heat will be provided by solar gain, heat radiated from the occupants and internal equipment.

Other sustainable features include grey-water harvesting for toilet flushing, solar panels to heat water, and LED lighting throughout.

Siobhan Davitt, Project Architect from BMJ Architects, said: "Not only have we had the opportunity to work collaboratively with a great client but we have been given scope to integrate a sustainable building strategy we feel passionate about into a building that shares a similar ambitious ethos – that of encouraging children through play to explore their nursery and its environs, as autonomous beings."

Douglas Farmer, Director of Burns Construction (Aberdeen) said: "Burns Construction were delighted to be entrusted by the University to deliver this project to the very high standards expected in order to achieve Passivhaus accreditation."

(LM)