Woodmill and St Columba's RC High School outperforms energy targets while delivering healthier learning environments

Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School is the world’s largest Passivhaus certified education building, bringing together two schools into one building, but operationally separate and keeping their own identities.

From the outset, we knew Passivhaus principles would create somewhere healthier and more comfortable for young people and teachers. We designed to a stringent set of criteria ensuring maximum comfort with minimum overall energy consumption. Following the Scottish Futures Trust’s (SFT’s) Energy in Use requirements, we worked to Passivhaus standards to guarantee we’d meet this benchmark.

As Passivhaus designer on the project, I’m delighted to share first-year data showing the 26,666 m² campus is operating around 20% better than its original energy performance target. That translates to warmer classrooms, cleaner air, lower carbon emissions and substantial savings for Fife Council. For the 2,450 pupils and staff inside, it means a building that simply works.

This is hugely important for us as designers as we’ve delivered what we promised, a sustainable, high-performing building that doesn’t compromise on design quality while genuinely creating a comfortable place to learn and teach. Even in the harshest winter weather or warmest summer conditions, the building maintains consistent comfort levels.

With AHR leading the architecture, landscape, interior and Passivhaus design, we wanted the end result to feel as comfortable as possible for the people who use it every day. Seeing these results is a fantastic outcome for everyone involved.

Achieving exceptional fabric performance

We designed a building fabric with excellent u-values, airtight construction and high-performance glazing. Natural light floods the spaces, fresh air circulates naturally and temperatures stay consistent throughout. When you invest in quality fabric, everything else follows.

The building achieved airtightness testing of 0.45 air changes per hour, comfortably beyond the Passivhaus requirement of 0.6 ACH. Combined with carefully specified insulation and triple glazing, the building envelope minimises heat loss while maximising daylight and comfort.

That level of performance takes precision. Every junction, every window detail, every material specification had to work together and it’s the result of close collaboration between our design team and everyone involved in construction.

These interventions have resulted in a energy bill cost cut by £433,392 and an energy consumption reduction by 48% in the first year since opening its doors.

You can read more about the building’s Passivhaus integration here

For me, this project proves that low-energy, sustainable buildings don’t mean compromise. This is what thoughtful design should do, work quietly in the background, making life better for everyone inside.

We focused on fabric performance because we know that’s where real, long-term value lives. Get that right and you create a building that performs year after year, saving energy, saving money and creating somewhere genuinely comfortable to spend time.

The success at Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School demonstrates what’s possible when sustainable design is treated as essential, not optional. It’s a school that works hard for its community, proving its value from day one.

Excitingly, we’re proudly implementing Passivhaus principles across a wide range of project types and sectors. By applying the knowledge and experience gained from this project, we continue to deliver the same high standard of sustainable outcomes for the diverse people and communities we work with. You can explore more of these projects here.

Hear from the pupils and teachers of the school

We had the invaluable opportunity to visit the school as it welcomed its first cohort of pupils and teachers. Its opening was met with overwhelming positivity.

From the excitement in the pupils’ voices as they share their favourite spaces, designed for collaboration and learning, to the teachers’ reflections on how the flexible environment has transformed their teaching methods, every corner of the school tells a story of growth and opportunity.

Listen here