Currie Community High School

Currie Community High School marks a triumphant new step for Scottish education, a state-of-the-art Passivhaus that delivers on design excellence and energy efficiency in an inspiring new facility that sits at the forefront of a net-zero carbon future.

Location

Edinburgh, UK

Area

12,749 m2

Status

Completed

Year

2025

Client

City of Edinburgh Council

The school also marks a series of firsts for Architype: Our first Scottish Secondary School, our first Passivhaus swimming pool and our largest school to date.

Facilities include educational spaces for 1,000 students, a wellness centre, a community library, a café, allotments and informal outdoor play areas. The scheme fosters intergenerational interaction and local ownership – offering a place for everyone from students to lane swimmers.

Key to the success has been a collaborative approach with all design partners, led by an ambitious client who was clear in their high ambitions from day 1. The City of Edinburgh Council developed the scheme under the Scottish Futures Trust’s Learning Estate Improvement Programme, which links funding to energy performance. Passivhaus was chosen to deliver this, being the only design standard that can guarantee performance at design stage, eliminating the performance gap.

We have had the most incredible month in our new school. Our new building offers significant benefits for students, staff and community users by providing a modern, flexible, and sustainable learning environment that moves beyond traditional classroom settings. The open plan learning plazas and break out spaces support a wider range of teaching and learning approaches and in using them is enhancing the wellbeing of everyone. Young people are helping us make decisions about how best to use these spaces which is fantastic.

Jenny Hutchison, Headteacher

Vision

All vision

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Design

The design blends playfulness with functionality. A series of learning environments inspired by social learning theory include: Campfire spaces for large-group teaching and assembly; Watering holes for informal exchange; Caves for quiet, individual reflection.

The variety of spatial composition provides a flexible approach to teaching to suit a wide range of student needs.

Architype’s Passivhaus fluency, and their seamless integration of Passivhaus designers and architects, was instrumental in supporting the team to deliver Currie Community High School. They successfully navigated the complex demands of a Passivhaus swimming pool and leisure facilities, carefully negotiating and agreeing sensible solutions with the Passivhaus Institute