Technology engineers, Ayrshire
Technology drawn in, not bolted on.
Lairds of Troon design and install the technology infrastructure of a building: the network it runs on, the security that protects it, and the audio, video, lighting and control that sit on top. We are in the drawing at RIBA Stage 2, not on site at Stage 5. We normally work for the client, with the architect. Family run since 1999, working throughout Scotland, on projects in Portugal, Spain and Italy, and in consultancy for a client in Monaco.
Start a conversation See the work
The practice
Most technology arrives too late.
A communications room has to be drawn at RIBA Stage 2. Containment has to be coordinated at Stage 3. Anything introduced after Stage 4 is not design, it is retrofit, and the client pays for it twice.
An integrator is handed a finished building and asked to make technology work inside it. A practice is in the drawing before the walls exist, so the rack room is the right size, containment runs where it should, and nothing is chased into finished plaster.
We work to the RIBA Plan of Work with architects across Scotland and we are the AV partner to the Glasgow Institute of Architects. Our services cover infrastructure and cyber security, smart home and lighting control, private cinema and listening rooms, sports simulation, and commercial and hospitality systems.
Where we join
- RIBA 1Preparation and briefLoad, coverage and resilience assumptions tested against the brief.
- RIBA 2Concept designCommunications room located and sized. Primary containment routes drawn.
- RIBA 3Spatial coordinationContainment coordinated with structure, services and joinery.
- RIBA 4Technical designRack elevations, cable schedules, reflected ceiling plans.
- RIBA 5ConstructionOff site pre build, commissioning, calibration, handover.
Why a practice rather than an installer
Qualified, tested, and prepared to say no.
Two master’s degrees, in network security and in cyber security. HNDs in cyber security across the engineering team through the Open University graduate apprenticeship. Every certification is named with the body that awarded it and the year, on our About page.
We hand over test results on every cabling job, at handover rather than on request. Wireless is designed against the fabric of the building rather than assumed, and containment is agreed before anything is fixed.
At the St Enoch Centre we carried out acoustic and SPL testing for a restaurant fit out and advised the client the space was unsuitable. That advice cost us the installation.
What we design
What we specify
- Steinway Lyngdorf authorised dealer
- Lyngdorf Audio authorised dealer and showroom
- Lutron HomeWorks authorised dealer and programmer
- RTI authorised dealer and programmer
- WyreStorm authorised dealer
- Control4 authorised dealer and programmer
- MK Sound authorised dealer
Selected work
Recent projects.
Hospitality, GlasgowUbiquitous Chip and StravaiginAudio and control across dining rooms, bar and roof garden for two of Glasgow’s best known restaurants.
Hospitality, GirvanHendrick’s Gin PalaceAudio and control for a visitor experience where the technology had to disappear inside a heritage setting.
Hospitality, North AyrshireSeamill Hydro, Glen Rosa SuiteAcoustic calibration and control for a function suite running conferences, weddings and live events on one system.Questions we are asked
Before you get in touch.
At what stage should technology be specified?
A communications room has to be drawn at RIBA Stage 2. Containment has to be coordinated at Stage 3. Anything introduced after Stage 4 is not design, it is retrofit, and the client usually pays for it twice.
Do you work for the architect or for the client?
Normally for the client, with the architect. Where there is a design team we work to the RIBA Plan of Work alongside it and report through it. Where there is not, we work directly for the client. We do not go around an architect to their client.
Where do you work?
Throughout Scotland. We are based in Ayrshire and work regularly in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the west coast, on private houses, estates and commercial buildings. We also take on work abroad for our clients, and have done so in Portugal, Spain and Italy, with consultancy for a client in Monaco.
Can you work in a listed building?
Yes. Much of our estate work is in listed or historically significant buildings, where there are no voids, the walls are rubble and a great deal of what you would like to touch is protected. Wireless is designed against the fabric of the building rather than assumed, and containment is agreed before anything is fixed.
What happens to an analogue telephone system when the PSTN is withdrawn?
Openreach is withdrawing PSTN and ISDN services, with January 2027 as the target and a staged ending rather than a single switch-off date. Anything still running on analogue lines has to move to VoIP. We repair the existing system, run it in parallel while the new network goes in underneath it, migrate, then decommission. Nothing is cut over on a single afternoon.
Do you hand over test results?
Yes, on every cabling job, at handover rather than on request. It is the same reason we told a client at the St Enoch Centre that the acoustics were unsuitable for their restaurant, which cost us the installation.
Will you discuss our system with anyone?
No. We name clients only where they have agreed to be named, and we publish nothing about how a building is secured. We do not discuss the technical detail of work carried out under a protective operation.
Start a conversation.
Tell us about the building. Not the kit list. The building, the programme, and who else is on the team. If there is an architect involved, the earlier we speak the less it costs.