The masterplan for Inverness Campus, designed in collaboration with landscape architect Lisa Mackenzie, has been submitted to The Highland Council for Outline Planning Consent.

The 215 acre Campus is a multi-stakeholder project facilitated by HIE which will create a modern center for tertiary education and research for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
It is seen as one of the most significant initiatives in the region over the next 25 years and will be a pivotal project in the eastern expansion of Inverness providing up to 175,000m2 of academic, research, residential and related business space.

Ewan Anderson of 7N Architects said ‘The project is fundamentally about opening up access to lifelong learning to people from a wide range of academic disciplines and backgrounds. The masterplan aims to bring people together in an inspiring environment which is woven into the social and cultural fabric of Inverness’.

The heart of the Campus will be at the natural center of gravity to the north of the site, at the convergence of new pedestrian routes where the principal communal uses and academic buildings form a gathering place sheltered by the unifying canopy which flows between them. The focal point of this gathering place is the hub building positioned on the raised promontory at the northern tip of the site giving it a strong presence on the principal approaches to the city.

The building is aligned with the Kessock Bridge and the distant view of Ben Wyvis to the north and will act like a form of ‘Claude glass’, or telescope, creating a strong connection with the distant Highland landscape. Landscape is a critical component of the masterplan, unifying and structuring the Campus whilst rooting it to the site through the retention and enhancement of existing tree lines, watercourses and habitats. The central parkland, which flows through the Campus from the market square to the wooded hillside to the south, is composed of a layered sequence of spaces characterized by interpretations of different Highland landscapes.

Lisa MacKenzie of the Lisa MacKenzie Consultancy said ‘The landscape, in dialogue with the new architecture, will define the identity and of the place presenting a confident, modern, future that encapsulates the distinctive culture of the Highlands’.

7N Architects, which were established in January 2009 by former members of Make’s team in Edinburgh, inherited the project from Make following their decision to close their Scottish studio at the end of last year.