Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New £4.75m Dundee innovation hub built with alternatives to steel, concrete and plasterboard

The building's construction aims to minimise its carbon footprint.

The new MSIP Innovation Hub in Dundee.
The new MSIP Innovation Hub in Dundee. Image: MSIP.

A new £4.75 million innovation hub in Dundee will see businesses develop products to address the climate emergency – and environmental concerns have also dictated the building’s construction.

The flagship centre is a key part of the former Michelin tyre factory’s transformation into a centre that focuses on decarbonisation.

The building at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) has not used conventional techniques. It has been built with its carbon footprint in mind.

The innovation hub has a glulam (glued laminated timber) and CLT (cross laminated timber) structure in place of steel.

This saves an estimated 715 tonne of carbon dioxide.

Both materials used are a natural alternative to steel, concrete, and plasterboard. They  are manufactured off-site to precise size specifications, resulting in very little to no waste in the construction phase.

MSIP innovation hub plans

The £4.75m building is due to be completed in October.

MSIP innovation hub is at the topping out stage. Image: MSIP

Colin McIlraith, chief operating officer at MSIP, said: “The innovation hub sits at the core of our mission at MSIP.

“It creates a place where industry, academia and government can come together and thrive.”

The use of natural building materials from sustainably managed forests reduces the buildings carbon footprint in two ways.

Firstly, less carbon dioxide is generated during the production of glulam and CLT than conventional building materials.

How Inside how the MSIP innovation hub could look.
How the inside of the MSIP innovation hub could look. Image: MSIP

Secondly, the use of wood as the principal building material locks away the carbon it contains for the building’s lifetime.

Robertson has been carrying out the construction.

Conversation