Fife Council’s Carnegie Leisure Centre has had double awards success recently.

The state of the art Centre in Dunfermline has won the refurbishment category in the Society of Chief Architects of Local Authorities (SCALA) Civic Building of the Year awards and has been awarded a commendation in the 2012 Saltire Awards from the Saltire Society.

This year was the 10th SCALA Civic Building of the Year awards and Carnegie was up against a total of 112 projects of which only 10 were short listed.

Carnegie was also one of only five civil engineering projects from across Scotland to have been given a commendation by the Saltire Society.

The Saltire Society Awards, which have been running for more than 30 years, are made annually to recognise excellence in civil engineering in Scotland.

Carnegie is the first of three sports and leisure centres in Fife to be finished as part of the Future of Leisure programme which, when complete, will have seen the council invest £55 million in new facilities in Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy too.

The exciting project protected the old whilst delivering the new to preserve the historical significance of the building.

The council’s design team worked together with project managers Turner & Townsend and main contractor Barr Construction to retain and enhance many of the original Edwardian aspects of the building.

Inside the facility historical features such as cast iron structures, ceramic glazed tiles, ornate plaster and timber detailing were preserved.

City of Dunfermline Area Chair Councillor Mike Rumney said: “I’m delighted to hear that the Carnegie Leisure Centre has won these prestigious awards.

“The council made every effort to ensure the historic features of Carnegie were preserved during the refurbishment.

“In addition, a range of new technology has been used too to improve the building and it’s great to hear that this hard work has been recognised.”

Ed Watson, Chief Executive of the Fife Sport and Leisure Trust, who operate and manage the Carnegie Leisure Center on behalf of Fife Council added his praise.

He said: “Since it reopened, Carnegie has been very popular with the local community, and overwhelmingly, people who use the Centre have been very impressed with the refurbishment. Carnegie is a much-loved Dunfermline landmark and it will continue to deliver accessible and affordable leisure opportunities boasting the latest equipment and facilities whilst maintaining its heritage.”