James Hutton Institute - Just Transition Hub

Project: James Hutton Institute - Just Transition Hub

Segment: Education

Country/city: United Kingdom, Aberdeen

Architect: JM Architects Edinburgh (Junming Thomson, Abigail VanderLek, James Forbes, Ronan Reid)

Installer: Roskel Glasgow – EPIC (John Russell)

Main contractor: Kier Construction

Photographer: Niall Hastie

Project size: 100 Ecophon Solo™ Freedom, 70 Ecophon Solo™ Baffle

The Just Transition Hub is a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art virtual and physical collaborative facility located in the heart of the James Hutton Institute’s Craigiebuckler campus. Its primary focus is to drive engagement, training, and innovation around nature-based net-zero solutions, both in the northeast and throughout Scotland. The Hub represents an innovative interior refurbishment and extension project, transforming existing spaces into a dynamic environment for education, training, and collaboration through the integration of advanced technology and biophilic design concepts.

A key feature of the refurbishment is the extensive use of the Ecophon Solo™ range, specified by JM Architects. The variety of shapes – such as the distinctive Ecophon Solo™ Hexagon panels, which were carefully selected to match the facility’s lighting design, and the undulating Solo Baffle Wave – adds visual interest and versatility to the interior. The Ecophon colour palette brings further vibrancy, offering a broad selection of Akutex™ FT colours that help define different zones while maintaining cohesiveness across the space.

These acoustic treatments do more than enhance the aesthetics; they significantly improve the overall sound quality within the Hub. By incorporating Solo Hexagon and Baffle elements in a range of colours and configurations, the design team addressed reverberation and unwanted noise, creating comfortable and flexible shared workspaces.

Yunming Thomson, Project Director at JM Architects explains:

“A key part of the client brief was to create a vibrant space that reflected the Hutton’s ethos of nature-based research. The Hub looks to connect back to the environment, not only maximising views to the landscape, but by using patterns and references to the natural world. The use of the Ecophon products were a key part of achieving this design. Ceiling baffles referenced honeycombs in the conference rooms and tree canopies in the canteen area. The baffles were also vital for creating the acoustic environment required for the collaborative spaces. By incorporating biophilic design with advanced technology to engage with the wider community, this building is an extension of the Hutton’s principles and culture.’’

This creates an environment specifically designed to meet contemporary requirements for conferencing, training, and exhibitions. It is a space where advanced technology and community objectives are fostered, ensuring effective communication and encouraging innovative collaboration.