Edinburgh College of Art draws up £14m revamp

Construction firm Kier has won a £14 million contract to refurbish Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), its latest deal in the education sector.

The main campus of Edinburgh College of Art. Picture: Contributed

Work at the grade A listed sandstone building on the city’s Lauriston Place will be carried out in two phases – the first of which begins this month and will run until September next year – so that one half of the site can remain in operation throughout the project.

Along with carrying out “essential” maintenance, the scheme will bring into use a new space on the west side of the main building, to be equipped with updated audio and visual facilities.

Kier’s ECA deal follows the completion last August of the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture for Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and its recent shortlisting for the restoration of the Mackintosh Building for the Glasgow School of Art.

Brian McQuade, managing director of the Scotland and north-east England arm of Kier’s construction division, which employs about 200 people north of the Border, said: “Kier has a made a solid start to 2016 and we are pleased to announce such a significant contract win in a sector in which we continue to make inroads.

“Activity will see a number of repairs and renovation work undertaken, alongside a number of new improvements and alterations. Kier has strong project management experience and a track record of putting together teams of subcontractors that allows us to tackle large projects on this scale, and we look forward to starting work on-site.”