Keppie Design - Education

Desertcreat College
Ulster, Northern Ireland
Client : Strategic Development Board
Value: £120m
Floor Area: 96,000 sqm
This project could be considered a world first. The intention
being to provide a combined centre of excellence for and
the development of, the police, prison and fire and rescue
services. As well as achieving economies of scale, the facility
is intended to promote inter-operability and understanding
between each organisation.
As the physical campus is a critical component of the
college’s existence, our approach was to analyse every
aspect of the context and develop our understanding of the
specialist nature of the accommodation. That reinforced
and emphasised the site cohesion and hierarchy of spaces.
Our response was therefore “people focused” and sought to
reinforce the positive effects of design – outlook, daylight,
ventilation, functionality, practicality and human scale to
positively reinforce the users training experiences.
Keppie Education 127