Architectural practice jmarchitects has been chosen to support the design of the Hutton’s multimillion pound Just Transition Hub project in Aberdeen. The new hub will create a state-of-the-art virtual and physical collaborative facility in the heart of the institute’s Craigiebuckler campus to drive engagement, training and innovation around nature-based net-zero solutions in the northeast and across Scotland. This will include acting as an incubator for “spin out” companies, drawing on the Hutton’s expertise in environmental, crop and food science, as well as wider public engagement, including a café. The hub, which has the backing of the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund, is expected to create 200 new jobs and draw £1.6 million into the local economy. Professor Lee-Ann Sutherland, project lead on the Just Transition Hub at the Hutton, says, “We’re already really excited by the design proposals we are working on, including remodelling areas of our existing building, which would result in lower lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions.” Faithful+Gould has been selected as the project manager for the £7.2 million Just Transition Hub. As project leader, Faithful+Gould, part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, will be appointing and leading a multidisciplinary team providing quantity surveying and supervisory roles for the design and build of the Just Transition Hub. In addition to Jmarchitects and Faithful+Gould’s appointments, Goodsons Associates and CCDP have also been chosen to join the design team, providing civil and engineering services and mechanical and electrical engineering respectively. Professor Lee-Ann Sutherland, Director of the International Land Use Study Centre (ILUSC) and project lead on the Just Transition Hub, says, “It‘s great to have Jmarchitects and Faithful+Gould and the rest of the team onboard with this project. We have an ambitious programme and timeframe, with construction targeted for 2024. Ultimately, the new development will expand our capacity – and that of the region – to progress nature-based and net-zero solutions where the community is part of the solution.” The King’s Award for Enterprise recognises a wide range of activities that The James Hutton Institute undertakes to address global sustainability challenges, all of which are aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This includes establishing the IBH, creating the world’s lead centre of excellence in barley science, and the Advanced Plant Growth Centre, delivering commercial and environmental benefits through precision controlled environmental technologies. The Hutton is also leading by example through several projects, including its Climate-Positive Farming Initiative, which seeks to achieve negative emissions through transforming farm activities. This includes planting 110 ha of trees in 2020 alone, peatland restoration, catchment scale water management and the HydroGlen project, which will demonstrate the first green hydrogen-powered commercially run farm in the UK. In addition to its scientific research, the Hutton is also focused on its own financial and environmental sustainability. “We have been reporting and reducing our own emissions since 2013, through alternative and energy saving measures, from solar power to biomass, and have met and even exceeded our short-term targets,” says Stefan Jindra, Sustainability Coordinator at the institute. “We also have biodiversity plans and are addressing recycling, waste and travel across our sites, while our Just Transition Hub project in Aberdeen, we’ll be helping build capacity and share expertise in the transition. “There is more to come too. We now have a target to be net zero in carbon emissions by 2035, for scope 1 and 2 emissions, and 2040, for scope 3, in line with the Science Based Target initiative. We’re excited about what meeting those targets will involve.” Appointments for Hutton’s Just Transition Hub June 2023 5 Yunming Thomson, from jmarchitects (far left), with Just Transition Hub project lead Lee-Ann Sutherland (far right), alongside Tara Gavan, project manager Faithful+Gould, and representatives of Goodsons Associates and CCDP.
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