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00:00It must be incredibly exciting to see it get to this stage. It's only just a few months away from being completed.
00:05It's fantastic, yeah. I've been working on this now for three years, so to see it in its final stages is really quite exciting.
00:11Seeing what you've designed come to life from a piece of paper to actually be in reality, it's very rewarding.
00:19Obviously, you were talking about outside, it looks like it's on track for a spring opening.
00:24Obviously, we're going into winter, so you can't say for definite exactly when, but it does look like it'll be ready for the start of the spring season.
00:31It'll be ready for the start of next season. But then again, we don't know what's going to happen in January with the weather.
00:37Exactly. We've already had a couple of cold snaps a bit earlier than you'd normally expect.
00:42What's the feedback you've been getting so far as it's been coming together?
00:46It sounds like the various Shinty clubs are very excited by the way things are developing.
00:51Everyone I've showed round has been very supportive and have had no adverse reaction, so that's good.
00:57Everyone seems to like what we've done, especially the grandstand.
01:01There's been a big change in that, so I think people really like it and are impressed with what we're doing.
01:07You mentioned the grandstand as well, a big change to it. What sort of changes have been made?
01:12The layout stayed the same, but we've repaired all the old timber, we've refurbished it.
01:17It's just looking much smarter and newer than it did before.
01:21Basically, we've vamped and refurbished for the future.
01:27The main structure underneath was actually quite sound, but a lot of the timber seating was rotten, so we've had to replace all that.
01:35We've done it now in a consistent way, so you can see it yourself, but it's looking a lot smarter.
01:41We've recladded everything. Before, it was all a bit ad hoc what had been done, so now it's all consistent.
01:48We've clad it all in black to try and give it a bit of unity and have a contrast with the red.
01:54You've got the red, new pavilion, and then the grandstand's black, just to try and make that stand out.
02:00Have there been any particular highlights or challenges that you've faced as this has been coming together?
02:08The biggest challenge probably, or the original intention, was to use ground source heat pumps to provide heating for the building,
02:16but the trial test boreholes weren't successful, so we've had to change to air source.
02:22That's posed challenges, just trying to redesign for that.
02:29What form of heat source have you gone with?
02:33At the moment, it's air source S, so that extracts heat, believe it or not, from the air and then provides enough to heat the building.
02:42Obviously, with the changing rooms and the grandstand, we've got a lot of showers in there, so there's a big requirement for a lot of hot water.
02:49In order to offset that, we've got PV photovoltaic panels on the roof of the new pavilion,
02:55and we're also going to cover the roof of the existing grandstand with photovoltaics as well, so there'll be a lot of electricity generated.
03:02So it's very much like a shinty showcase ground for the 21st century heading into the future.
03:10But also for football, and school sports, they come and use the bucket as well, so it's not just shinty, but it's for everyone.
03:18Of course, as well, we've got the special events and stuff that take place in the park as well, so it's a true multi-purpose...
03:25I've been down here with my kids when they were younger for the school sports, so again, what we've done at the grandstand will help with that.
03:32Excellent. And obviously, upstairs, part of the building is obviously for functions and looking out over on the day itself.
03:42Downstairs is the shinty museum. Obviously, that sounds like it's a particularly exciting part of the project.
03:48What's it been like pulling that together?
03:52Well, that's kind of at a late stage, because the designer for the actual shinty museum, they were just starting to work up their designs,
03:59so we've actually had to just make a lot of assumptions. But now that they're appointed, they can get on with that,
04:04so I think that's due to happen in the summer next year. But they're kind of at an early stage with that at the moment.
04:14I think I've covered most of the bases. Are there any particular aspects that I may not have asked you about or that you're particularly excited would like to mention?
04:23No, I just think we haven't compromised the park in any way, I don't think, in terms of its immunity.
04:30But there is the area of overflow car parking that we've created, so that will help reduce congestion during larger events.
04:38And that's the other thing this building was always designed for, was when you have the larger events taking place at the park,
04:43this can potentially be used for green rooms for performers to come and relax, so to help with that as well.
04:52Actually, it's a multi-purpose site.
04:55As you say as well, it's being fitted around the park.
05:02The park is hugely important to Inverness. It's a big green space, one of the few remaining ones, so it's important that we didn't compromise that.
05:09The new building is located in an area where there was never any activity anyway, so I think we've left the park free for all.