The award-winning visitor centre, located on the fringe of the UK’s North Riding Forest Park, is optimised to minimise energy consumption. The building has been designed to be operationally sustainable while providing first-class facilities for visitors to the forest.
Project challenges and goals
- an innovative visitor centre which is an exemplar of sustainable construction
- to produce renewable energy with visible costs, payback periods and funding opportunities
- a flagship development for the Forestry Commission and the local community
- to design and build an ecologically sound structure with locally sourced material wherever possible
- each element is designed to be completely recyclable or reusable
- minimal environmental impact in an area designated as a site of special scientific interest
Outcomes and achievements
- a flagship structure for sustainable construction
- a visitor attraction in the heart of a working forest that blends seamlessly into the landscape
- economic regeneration, providing improved quality of life and an enhanced environment
- materials were sourced locally where possible
- the roofing membrane was made from recycled tyres and the cladding from off-cuts of local cedar
- the timber frame is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council; its treatments are boron based
- a benchmark development for new visitor centres for the Forestry Commission
Halcrow’s role
Halcrow was appointed to carry out the structural and civil engineering and building services design from RIBA Stage D through to monitoring the contractor’s design and construction.
This included co-ordinating a carefully engineered sustainable solution, integrating some of the latest green technologies in architecture, structural engineering, civil engineering and mechanical and electrical engineering services, using locally sourced materials wherever possible.
Halcrow contributed to the success of the project by providing:
- a high level of innovation in structural design
- awareness of the environmental and ecological impacts of the design options
- concrete-free foundations
- integration of off-site construction techniques
- sustainable timber design and treatment