In a prominent position beside the Allt Mòr burn at the north of Kinloch Rannoch is the Rannoch Community Hub building, completed in 2025. The building itself has an interesting history, originally constructed as a village primary school in 1840 and then later converted to an outdoor centre in the 1980s. The outdoor centre was eventually closed in 2019, which fuelled the ambition of the Rannoch Community Trust for a conversion project to deliver modern community hub facility.
From the off, the Trust were committed to minimising the environmental impact of their development and commissioned our expertise with a study on low-carbon heat options for the site. Air, ground and water source heat pumps were all considered, as well as the heat import option to capture and utilise waste heat from the generator at the nearby Allt Mòr hyro-electric power station. An air-source heat pump solution was eventually taken forward on balance of resilience, ownership, access, simplicity and costs. The hub building includes the aptly named Cornerstone Bar & Eatery, complete with a picturesque conservatory looking out to the garden grounds, the burn, and the wider village.
Building from the conclusion of the low carbon heating study, we were engaged to prepare a technical note in support of the planning application. This note presented the visual scale and noise emissions associated with the air source heat pumps. It also referenced external lighting strategy recommendations in support of relevant principles from Perth & Kinross Council’s supplementary guidance to the Development Plan.
Once Planning Approval was confirmed, our appointment was extended to include for detailed engineering design of all mechanical, electrical and public health systems. A significant effort was made to minimise the visual intrusion of the building services throughout the facilities, and a high degree of coordination was employed with the Trust’s interior design lead.
The systems covered by our work included ventilation, heating and cooling, domestic water, power, lighting and emergency lighting, cable containment, fire alarms, security systems, structured data, cabling and building controls.
Project team:
Architect: Studio-East
MEP Engineer: Ardler Engineering Design
Main Contractor: H&H Construction