Historic Edinburgh swimming pool restored by award-winning engineering firm

Edinburgh Evening News

Award winning engineering firm, Will Rudd, took us behind the scenes following their restoration project at the Warrender Swim Centre in Edinburgh

Transcript

00:00All around Edinburgh are buildings that showcase the city's history and innovation,

00:04its skyline telling the story of centuries past. But these structures are more than just

00:09relics of the past, they're also vital to the city's identity and future.

00:14We met up with award-winning civil, structural and conservation engineering firm Will Rudd

00:19to take a look at how one of their projects has ensured that a Victorian swimming pool

00:23and marchment will be in place for residents to enjoy for generations to come.

00:28The local company's work can be seen across the capital including the Edinburgh Futures Institute

00:33with ongoing projects including the restoration of the King's Theatre and the Nelson Monument

00:38on Calton Hill. In 2018, the Will Rudd team were tasked with upgrading the Warrander Swim Centre

00:45as well as improving the facilities at the Victorian building. Completed in May 2023,

00:50the project involved upgrading the pool tank, enlarging the gym, building new changing and

00:56shower facilities and making the building more energy efficient.

01:00It's a building that's almost 140 years old, it opened in 1887 and the main part of the work was

01:08to ensure that the building was brought up to modern standards but also a key part then is to

01:13make sure we can keep what we can of the original fabric. So one of the most exciting parts of the

01:19project was the moment when during some of the early demolition works the contractors were

01:25preparing for enlarging the gym and when they were stripping out some of the modern wall and

01:31floor finishes in old steam rooms, we encountered what was some truly amazing old Victorian tile

01:39works. When we started to investigate some more we found out that those were probably

01:46original tile works from when the building was first opened more than 100 years ago. It was

01:52quite special slowly peeling back the modern alteration to the building and finding

01:59old tile work that countless generations of people would have enjoyed and think about the

02:05care that the contractor put in back then to make sure it lasted so long.

02:10Whenever you find something like that it brings home again how really we're just custodians of

02:16these buildings, we look after them for a brief moment in our career and hopefully the work we've

02:20done here ensures that the building is useful for future generation of people and also future

02:27consultants and engineers and continue the job we've done here and make sure the building lasts

02:32for another 140 years. One of the most challenging part and interesting parts of the

02:39project was dealing with the remains of the old chimney at the back of the facility. The chimney

02:45was huge in its day and it took up a disproportionate part of the back of the facility

02:50and a space that could be better used for modern facilities. A lot of that had to be done with

02:57remote control specialist demolition robot machinery. We can do as many assessments and

03:04investigations as possible but you never quite know how it was built more than 100 years ago,

03:09what alterations might have been done that isn't visible and you have to always take the safety

03:15of the operatives as paramount to make sure everybody goes home safely at the end of the day.

03:21Preserving notable buildings in Edinburgh not only maintains the city's cultural aesthetic

03:26but also supports sustainability, reducing the need for construction and promoting environmentally

03:32conscious urban developments. By carefully restoring the buildings with innovative

03:37engineering these buildings will continue to be part of the city with their historical significance

03:42intact. Conservation engineering is a very specialist and niche field. There's not many

03:49conservation accredited engineers in Scotland. We are fortunate to have that capability in-house

03:56and it does give us that extra expertise when dealing with historic buildings that is often

04:02required to make sure that you approach it in the right way to ensure the building is looked after

04:07properly for future generations. It's a greatly satisfying part of the job is to come here now

04:13with family as a user, the building is finished and I can finally enjoy it myself and I can lie

04:20here in the pool and look up through the timber roof and look at the usually grey Edinburgh sky

04:24and think about how many generations have had a chance to do that before me and I think future

04:31generations should have that opportunity as well to have that experience I've had, previous

04:35generations have had. So yeah a hundred years seems like a long time for a building but there's no

04:41reason why these facilities can't be made to last for another hundred years with modern standards implemented.

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