March 7 2018

The Highland Council have brought forward plans to revitalise Merkinch Primary School & Nursery, Inverness, by way of an extension and full refurbishment together with demolition of non-original additions.

The council’s own architects are seeking to retain the existing B-listed school while building additional classrooms, an energy centre and overhauling the public realm, keeping the current school fully operational throughout.

This will extend the current school to 16 classrooms, a four-room nursery and separate sports hall in order to meet the demands placed on a rise in school roll numbers which are expected to peak in 2026, presenting the significant challenge of creating a large modern school building that is respectful to the original.

Giving an overview of their project the council observed: “The school is an important public building within the merkinch community and should be clearly recognizable and distinguished from the surrounding urban fabric. The new building fronts onto Carse Road with the main school entrance accessed across a new public plaza.

“The detailing and materials of the new building will be crisp and modern , with large areas of glass bringing daylight to the teaching spaces.”

To that end the massing of new elements has been broken down to more closely resemble the Victorian school, principally reflected in the width of gables, a textured masonry finish and pitch of the roof.

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