January 11 2024

Stirling Council has laid the groundwork for a new community campus in Callander, the largest town in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Responding to the brief Ryder Architecture will deliver a new Callander Community Campus to spearhead town's southern expansion on land adjacent to McLaren High School on Mollands Road - an area identified for new housing.

Employing a 'soft touch' connection with the existing High School the project sits at the centre of a variety of outdoor spaces including a sensory garden, entrance plaza and dining terrace as part of an accessible route to the River Teith. This landscape strategy extends to a covered balcony affording opportunities for outdoor learning.

In a design statement Ryder wrote: "The location of the site provides an open rural setting as you arrive in Callander from the A81 and is the first impression of the built form of the town.

"A key feature of the site will be an embankment which separates the upper and lower play areas. Play features such as slides and climbing frames are proposed for this transitional feature."

Finished in blockwork with galvanised and stainless steel for a 'barn-like' presence for the school within its woodland setting.

4 Comments

#1 Posted by James on 12 Jan 2024 at 05:43 AM

Stirling council tell us they have no money and are cutting services . Who pays for this ? We already have plenty of underused halls that can be used for community purposes .a waste of. Money and not required.

#2 Posted by Anon on 12 Jan 2024 at 08:09 AM

^ they still cant explain why the current primary school cannot be refurbished. The need for a new build is based on an assessment done by head teachers. How are they qualified to know?

#3 Posted by Lovely on 12 Jan 2024 at 11:40 AM

Material and colour aesthetic quite nice but also looks like a small house that got madly extruded out in a photocopying accident.

In a country literally full of empty and under used buildings why does it always have to be new build as the other commenters correctly note?

No doubt it will come with all the usual 'zero carbon' tags and trumpets attached telling you that the planet is somehow being saved by wasting your tax payer money on another unnecessary new building.

#4 Posted by phellix on 26 Jul 2024 at 11:27 AM

Looks nice.. the people that complain. There has been opportunity to comment on planning, and to make your voice hears via consultation process. Children deserve to be educated in buildings of good standard. Money for these have been ringfenced and not paid for at council level, developers usually pay contributions which goes on to fund things link this.

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