VISITOR CENTRES 101
building that would not only enable it to increase production, but also welcome visitors to learn about the brand. Te elegant 14,800 sq m complex, sitting discreetly in the designated Area of Grand Landscape Value from a distance, yet stunning on approach, has since won a string of awards, including World Architecture Festival Winner 2019 and RIAS Award for Scotland 2019. In particular, its timber structure impressed judges, and it was overall winner in the Structural Timber Awards thanks to a roof that is one of the most complicated timber structures in the world, comprising 1,800 single beams, 2,500 different roof elements, and 380,000 individual components. ‘Natural materials – local stone,
timber and the living meadow roof – as well as the landscaping design not only evoke the environment and ingredients of whisky production, but also serve to provide an atmospheric journey for the visitor,’ says a spokesperson for Te Macallan. While RSHP’s project covered 3.6 acres and cost £140m, more modest projects can also provide interesting challenges. Tere was a budget of just £700,000 for the 170 sq m Wildlife Discovery Centre at River Lee Country Park, designed by Andris Berzins + Associates for Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Architect Nick Berzins explained: ‘Te client brief provided by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority was relatively
open. Paramount was the centre’s relationship to nature and in particular the variety of birds which use and nest on the Seventy Acres Lake.’ Berzins and his team spent many hours visiting bird hides and learning about wildlife in the area to inspire the design: ‘Te central concept was aimed at integrating the new building into the landscape and offering habitats for animals and birds – in particular bitterns. Te developed scheme used gabion walls filled with recycled concrete to encourage insect and small animals to use as their habitat, while bat and bird boxes were inserted into both the gabion walls and the extended roof eaves to provide ready homes in addition to the purpose-built
Right The Wildlife Discovery Centre, in the River Lee Country Park at Waltham Cross, is a compact, eco-friendly development with a unique bird-watching tower
Size: 170 sq m
Architect: Andris Berzins + Associates
Client: Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Consultant: Perfect Circle
Project Manager/engineer: Pick Everard
Contractor: Carmelcrest Construction Exhibition Design: 35percent
Green Infrastructure Professional: Dusty Gedge
LEFT AND ABOVE: LVRPA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125
