Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Tower houses and castles inspire designs for new Inverness primary school

Ness Side primary school visualisation

Full plans have been submitted for a new primary school for Inverness – and it is inspired by tower houses and castles.

Ness Side primary school and nursery will serve part of the west side of the city, for the future housing developments of Ness Castle and Ness-side.

An initial roll of about 150 is expected to rise to 630 by 2032-33.

And now, lead architects Stallan Brand have revealed the design – a building they say is “inspired by the Scottish vernacular of tower houses and castles which are dotted around Inverness town and its periphery’.

The school will consist of four conjoined buildings, in a  stepped, triangular layout.

The layout will create sheltered outdoor social spaces and resources areas for a variety of purposes close to the building, while further out tree and wild flower planting will allow habitat creation, exploration and sport, including a multi-use games area and an all-weather pitch.

The designers foresee the creation of a “Highland garden” to be developed over time by the school and community, and state that the external spaces around the school reflect its place at the heart of the community, and the need to be inviting and accessible to all.

Parking for 54 cars, including five accessible spaces, and 33 cycle storage spots is planned, with 14 spaces and two accessible bays available for nursery drop off throughout the day.

The two storey building is designed to be fully adaptable and extendable in the future, made from modern, sustainable materials.

It will be brick on light steel frame construction which the designers say is “recyclable, robust and thermally efficient”.

As in tower houses and castles, the walls will be deep, and will conceal efficient thermal insulation enveloping the whole building.

The twelve classrooms and communal spaces will have large windows and additional roof-lights to allow as much natural light as possible.

The plan is to use renewable energy in the form of air source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels.

The architects say their school designs ‘address the needs of the 21st century learner, with well structured adaptable spaces which help teachers deliver more creative lessons, and encourage improved teamwork.’

The Ness Castle area is in line for around 1,000 new homes in three phases.