KJ Tait were part of the Design Team with MRT Architects for this Passivhaus project for a Complex Care development in the Stoneywood area of Aberdeen. The scheme includes 8 semi-detached homes and staff office facilities. The primary benefit is to provide a local facility to the city to help house and care for some of its most vulnerable inhabitants.
Each plot provides private sleeping, living and wet room facilities for the occupant whilst being adaptable to specific care requirements. Externally shared gardens and a sensory garden have been designed to maximise privacy but quality of environment.
A staff site office is located centrally within the complex and provides private office, meeting and multifunctional areas for both faculty members and visitors. This space has been designed to enable a further two semi-detached residences to be built if required.
As Passivhaus certified buildings, these spaces have been designed to meet the rigorous and robust requirements set out within the Standard. This key design element was achieved through close collaboration with the Architect and our onboard specialist Passivhaus Engineers. The project was handed over in 2025 and successfully achieved both Passivhaus standard and outstanding energy efficiency credentials.
KJ Tait were appointed early within the initial design stage of the project to assist with the original concept design on the site. This included initial consultation with Aberdeen City Council and their Stakeholders to help pull together the project deliverables and specific project requirements. Through this consultation, both the services and environmental design could be developed from concept to assess its feasibility and suitability for the site.
Key development of the mechanical and electrical design from the project outset allowed the design to progress organically around the requirement set out within the Passivhaus planning package (PHPP). Underfloor heating was provided throughout via a high efficiency monobloc heat pump system: this was also utilised for hot water generation. The air tightness requirements of passive house required a whole house ventilation system to be designed consisting of a PHPP accredited mechanical heat recovery system with intelligent controls throughout.
The project is a joint venture alongside Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership with a budget of £4m. With the noted additional requirements for the site, the project remained conscious of its budget constraints. Cost reviews and assistance were provided by the design team at key project milestones to help manage the process.
As a traditional project, the ongoing collaboration between the Design Team and Client was essential through the construction process. This included ongoing site meetings, site observation reports and technical assistance. This prioritised both quality of installation and cost control to collectively target the final project goals.
As a recently cleared site, the design included for entirely new mechanical and electrical utilities to be brought to the site. As works to the site would be adopted by the Client, KJ Tait assisted the Civil Engineer in the preparation of the Road Construction Consent (RCC) package. A central mains fed sprinkler tank was also installed to serve all the new plots and office spaces. Alongside this, and due to the nature of these care facilities, a telecare system was designed to feed back to the office plot. This resulted in a robust design package for infrastructure co-ordination.
Photographs supplied by Mackie Ramsay Taylor
