Architectural practice: Grimshaw

Project name/title: Futures Institute at the Dollar Academy

Client name: Dollar Academy

Location: Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland

Completion year: TBC

Futures Institute at Dollar Academy (FIDA) in Scotland will be delivered to receive the country’s first Living Building certification. Accessed by a network of pathways and reinstated botanical gardens, the Institute’s biophilic form lies immersed in a working landscape. Heavily planted terraces, berms, ponds and swales support the building’s water and waste needs, while providing an invaluable educational resource and inspirational recreational environment.

FIDA was launched in May 2021 to tackle three fundamental challenges in education ― providing equitable access and closing the poverty-related attainment gap; finding compelling alternatives to traditional teaching and exam systems; and addressing sustainability. The initiative provides young people across Scotland with unique opportunities to undertake real-world challenges founded on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. These take the form of workshops, skills-based courses, design challenges and competitions, and are offered either in person or via an online platform to enable the widest possible participation.