banff and buchan college

College 2012 Project Nears Completion

Banff and Buchan College’s 2012 redevelopment project is nearing completion with stage 1 and 2 now commissioned and in full operation.

Stage 1 saw the new atrium opened to students with increased social space, a new refectory, new library and resource centre and a new front entrance to the College. The building is bright and modern and has given the students much more space to work and enjoy their time at College.

Stage 2 has seen the opening of the ‘cloisters’ area which hosts six new classrooms which are organised together with moveable partition walls so that the space can be arranged for different activities within the College. This allows six smaller rooms, three larger rooms or even the whole area to open out for large class meetings, events or presentations.

There is also a new reception for the College’s Wallace Restaurant and the Hairdressing and Beauty department – now referred to as ’The Salon’. These new reception areas will be accessed through a new commercial entrance for the College. This is due for completion early next year and will enable members of the public to access the college services more easily.

The refurbishment has seen classrooms refurbished to a very high standard and the most recent developments have seen the opening of classrooms for business, IT, administration, social studies and hair and beauty students.  New real working environment salons have also been opened offering clients the very latest in comfort and treatments.

The redevelopment has seen every classroom fitted with state of the art audio visual equipment including e-beam technology, projectors, and speakers that can utilise media and internet content. Every classroom will have wifi capability.
The remaining social spaces within the College will also feature a wealth of IT equipment with IT areas supporting self-study.

The final stages of the project will see the technology classrooms refurbished to match the rest of the space and the outside space around the College being sympathetically landscaped. The portacabin village, which has been used to house students and staff throughout the refurbishment, is set to be removed and that area will be reinstated into the car parking which existed previous to project start. The single story portacabins will shortly be moved on to other projects outwith the College and the College is actively seeking a new home for its large 2 story portacabin. Any enquiries for this should be directed to Project Sponsor Duncan Abernethy (email: dabernethy@banff-buchan.ac.uk).

Project Sponsor Duncan Abernethy said “I am delighted with the reaction we have had from staff, students and visitors who have all been really positive about the new development. Main contractors Robertson Construction Northern have done a fantastic job with the project ensuring that the high quality we look for has been maintained throughout.

“If you would like to let us know what you think of the new building, Twitter #college2012 or visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/banffandbuchan and leave us a message.”