The University of Edinburgh has opened its new Engineering Forum building, delivered by McLaughlin & Harvey and housing the School of Engineering's Institute for Energy Systems (IES).

Procured through the SCAPE Scotland Framework, the facility is designed to bring staff and students together for learning, research, student-led innovation and social spaces.

The steel-framed, five-storey building spans 6,500 square metres and functions as a living laboratory for emerging technologies in renewable energy, power systems and electronics. It is set up to support hands-on learning and active research.

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Key features include fully accessible teaching, study and meeting spaces such as a sub-divisible 120-person conference room, two 50-seat classrooms, a student innovation teaching space, a computer teaching laboratory, a Power Teaching Lab and a range of breakout areas. Dedicated student support areas include new offices for the Engineering Teaching Organisation, alongside a ground-floor café and an outdoor terrace.

The development expands facilities for IES, which conducts world-leading research in low-carbon energy systems, technology and policy, by providing new research labs, meeting rooms and offices.

Sustainability is integral to the design, with a rooftop photovoltaic array generating renewable electricity for the building. A net zero Living Lab allows researchers to monitor real-time energy use via microsensors on every floor and trial innovative heating systems to drive further efficiency gains.

The Engineering Forum forms part of the broader transformation of the King’s Buildings campus. McLaughlin & Harvey also delivered the Nucleus Building, opened in 2022, as well as other University projects including the Usher Building in 2024 and the Roslin Innovation Centre in 2017.