Hazelwood, Glasgow's new school for children with duel sensory impairment, has been shortlisted by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland for the Andrew Doolan Award. The award is for the Best Building in Scotland in 2007 and is the biggest in the UK. Hazelwood will foster life skills in children with severe learning difficulties, to help them lead independent lives. The children, who age between 2 and 18, are blind and deaf or have a variety of sight problems. Others have cognitive impairment and physical disability.

Monica McGeever, Hazelwood's headteacher says: "When our children leave this school, they will not go into jobs or go and live in their own flat or house- they will always need to be supported. Adults who are blind and have learning difficulties can lead passive lives. But the more independence they have, the more choices they will be able to make and the more stimulating their lives will be."

Jane Eyre , the depute head adds: "one young person, the most cognitively challenged person I've ever met, can now go and eat and go to the toilet by himself. For the rest of his life his dignity will be maintained."

The school is located in a quiet residential area on the edge of Bellahouston Park and the Dumbreck Conservation Area. The building is conceived in natural free flowing form and meanders through the site respecting it's existing landscape of mature lime and beech trees. Timber is the predominant structural and cladding material was selected for its natural weathering qualities and its character and warmth.

The architects have developed innovative sensory clues throughout their design to help the children orient themselves within the school environment and find their own way to their classrooms.

For gm+ad it is a successful conclusion to an intense four year design, consultation and construction process, involving Glasgow City Council, parents, teachers, clinicians and the children themselves. Keir Bloomer, former Chief Executive of Clackmannanshire Council, Chairman of the Tapestry Group and renown educationalist, says Hazelwood School "if anything, exceeds expectations. There is really so much to admire about it; the way the design is adapted to the site, the choice of materials, the linking of interiors to the exterior and much more. For me the the complexity and avoidance of straight lines ensure constant interest and variety while still maintaining intimacy and human scale. I shall certainly keep on saying to anyone who will listen that it is the most exciting new school building in Scotland".

It is the fourth time in the five years that architects Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop have been shortlisted for the £25,000 Andrew Doolan Award.

"Our previous shortlisted buildings were all highly succesful commercial projects but this is the most rewarding 'says Alan Dunlop." The Radisson SAS hotel, Sentinel in Glasgow and the John Knox Street Warehouses in Clydebank all won top architecture awards but Hazelwood School is our first public project and our first school to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award"