The new Alness Academy caters for 660-pupils and includes a community wing with a swimming pool, a gym, a games hall, and two floodlit 3G pitches. The building also has a separate Additional Support Needs facility.
The £34m development was delivered by Kier Construction under the Hub North Scotland framework. At the time of our appointment in 2018, the project was already in Hub Stage 2.

An environmental noise survey was undertaken on the site which was used to confirm the suitability of the proposed natural ventilation strategy in most of the school to comply with BB93 internal ambient noise level requirements.
The building has concrete composite floors throughout, which together with sound absorbing ceilings, provide good control of airborne noise. Enhanced sound insulating ceilings and walls were provided to the music rooms to help control noise transfer to adjacent spaces.

The large volume, open-plan assembly/performance and dining hall was identified at the design stage as being a challenging space to control reverberation. We worked with JM Architects to maximise the amount, and efficiency of the sound absorbing treatment, and to optimise the locations. The treatment includes efficient sound absorbing wood wool panels to the ceiling, with additional insulation behind, perforated plasterboard linings around the roof light downstands, and additional wall and balustrade-front treatments.