The work adapts the three-storey building for new renewable energy infrastructure and modern accessibility requirements.

Sitting within the Elgin High Street Conservation Area, a programme of energy efficiency, structural and conservation works has been carried out on the 19th-century sandstone building.

Michael Laurie Architects spearheaded the architectural and conservation design, with Will Rudd delivering structural engineering expertise as part of a wider project team including Currie & Brown, Morgan Sindall, CJA Consulting Engineers and Thomson Gray.

The project required new rooftop plant and photovoltaic (PV) panels to be installed as well as structural alterations, conservation works and accessibility upgrades to the current building.

Access was one of the main challenges. Larger structural elements could not be brought into the building in conventional lengths, so the consultancy designed the new steelwork in smaller sections, enabling beams to be manoeuvred through the site and assembled in position.

The team also designed roof strengthening works to support the new rooftop plant and PV panels, as well as associated foundations, lintels and framing for internal and façade alterations.

Deterioration within the current building fabric, such as decaying sandstone, previous repairs and poorly performing windows, were addressed by the wider refurbishment. 

Conservation engineering input for works to the building’s shopfront and stonework was delivered by Will Rudd.

New roof and wall insulation, triple-glazed windows, an air source heat pump, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and rooftop solar PV were included in the retrofit work. 

Stuart Fleming, director at Will Rudd, said: “The challenge with decarbonising existing buildings is that new technologies and systems have to work with structures that were never designed with them in mind.

“That means understanding the existing building in detail and finding ways to accommodate modern requirements without introducing unnecessary intervention.”

Fleming added: “At Elgin, that approach was central to supporting the wider retrofit while respecting the character and structural limitations of the building.”

Completed in 2024, the Elgin project is part of wider work for COPFS, with Michael Laurie Architects and Will Rudd also involved in the low-carbon refurbishment of its Category B-listed Edinburgh Crown Office headquarters, which reached completion last year.