Below are some examples of recent projects undertaken by Building Design Service (BDS) team. Please click on one of the following links:

The Edinburgh Standard is a strategy that sets the standards for long-term planned maintenance and investment of Council owned homes. Planned maintenance includes internal and external work.

Priorities for the next five years are: roofs and gutters, windows, heating replacement, kitchens and bathrooms. Consultation with tenants remains a key feature of the project, and will guide any work undertaken.

BDS has developed an initiative which maximises customer choice and flexibility. This is facilitated by a package of home improvement measures. 270 homes were involved in the first year of the initiative. At present By Design choices have been welcomed by tenants in the kitchens and bathrooms programme throughout the city, and in the external door replacement programme in Dumbiedykes. The initiative aims to improve over 650 homes in 2003/04. By Design has already achieved excellent customer satisfaction rates from its tenants.

BDS has also introduced a mobile computing scheme for recording customer choices. This is proving to be a success with tenants and BDS staff.

We have also undertaken to improve energy efficiency in all homes where we have direct responsibility. BDS has raised the National Home Energy Efficiency (NHER) rating in many Council homes over the past five years from 3.7 to 6.2 (with the optimum being 10). This has been achieved through a variety of measures including heating, double-glazing and external insulation measures.

BDS also contributes to Edinburgh's Affordable Warmth Strategy through the promotion of partnership arrangements with Scottish Southern Energy. This aims to reduce fuel costs for individual households. With the current levels of improvements, tenants are now saving £140 per household, with average bills of £435 per annum compared with £575 in 1996 – a 25% reduction. This represents gross savings to tenants of £4.06m per annum.

It's estimated that 12,500 Council properties will need further energy efficiency improvements over the next ten years. 3,500 of these will require substantial investment. Bearing this in mind, BDS ensures that all new buildings are designed with energy efficient features.

BDS undertakes joint project work with the Department of Education, particularly in planned maintenance and the refurbishment, modernisation and rebuilding of schools. Aside from the achievements at schools such as Leith Academy and St Thomas of Aquin's High School, the unique expertise and experience of BDS was utilised in the assessment of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) replacement programme of 22 Council schools. Feasibility studies on four major secondary schools are in their second phase.

BDS is currently dealing with major extensions to Blackhall Primary School and East Craigs Primary School. Other work includes building new nurseries at Roseburn Primary, Echline Primary and Dalmeny Primary Schools.

The planned maintenance programme for schools includes window replacements, asbestos removal, boiler replacements, heating replacements, electrical rewiring, playground improvements and roof refurbishments, such as the flat to pitched roof conversions at East Craigs Primary and Westburn Primary and cladding of St Catherine's RC Primary. Following feasibility studies, fire improvement work to a further six primary schools has now commenced. A large percentage of planned maintenance work is carried out over the summer months when the schools are closed.

Together with the Department of Culture and Leisure, BDS undertakes design and refurbishment work of prominent and prestigious city buildings. For example, working in partnership with Amec, BDS successfully completed phase 1 of the refurbishment of the Usher Hall.

Future work includes the Lottery funded upgrading of Warrender Swim Centre, feasibility studies for Glenogle Baths and Drumbrae Leisure Centre, a feasibility study for the City Arts Centre to improve the building's security and project work at Huntly House and Lauriston Castle museums. BDS will also oversee the maintenance and refurbishment of the monuments and buildings on Calton Hill.

With the Department of Environmental Health, phase 1 of the refurbishment of the City Mortuary was successfully completed in 2002. BDS will continue to be involved in further refurbishment work on this building. BDS is also dealing with the asbestos removal and re-walling works at Powderhall Refuse Depot.

One major project is the education centre for Community Safety for Edinburgh and the Lothians - the Risk Factory. The Risk Factory has been funded by the four Lothian Local Authorities (including CEC), the police, the fire brigade and Scottish Power. It will be the first purpose-designed, interactive community safety learning centre in Scotland. BDS is also involved in building a Fire Brigade Operational Support Centre at Newbridge as part of its links with services like the Fire Brigade.

In all of its work BDS uses, where appropriate, renewable resources and the latest technologies in energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

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