Offener Wettbewerb | 05/2013
Great Fen Visitor Centre
Finalist
Architektur
Bauingenieurwesen
Landschaftsarchitektur
Erläuterungstext
A timber clad gridshell structure on a raised timber platform that frames views of the landscape and creates its own distinctive habitat.
The grid shell roof encloses the three main elements of the visitor centre:
- a large and flexible open space that extends along the length of the building.
- an enclosed area to the left of the entrance for staff and offices
- an enclosed area to the right of the entrance that houses the meeting area, public lavatories and kitchen facilities.
The Main Space
The main space houses the retail area, reception desk, tea room and exhibition/event area. It is glazed and offers stunning views over different aspects of the evolving fenland landscape that are framed by the timber grid shell arches and open lattice supporting structures. It is this sense of immediacy and participation between the visitor and the wider landscape that the design emphasises. The visitor centre can be seen as a giant hide that affords both shelter and protected views. We envisage that visitors may want to sit and look out onto the different landscape views for hours, perhaps following the flight of birds or watching the reeds rustle in the wind against the wide expanse of sky and the distant forests of Holme Fen. In the summer months the cafe can extend into the exterior deck.
As well as being a place for reflection and the quiet enjoyment of the immediate landscape and the wider horizon, the Visitor Centre will be an active hub for the Great Fen. The main space is conceived as flexible with both defined uses such as shop and tearoom and more open areas that can, for example, be used for exhibitions, education purposes, private events or craft activities. It has been designed without partitions that will obstruct views but by the placement of furniture pieces such as the reception desk and a low glass tank that will display an anaerobic environment and can contain the tearoom area.
The grid shell roof encloses the three main elements of the visitor centre:
- a large and flexible open space that extends along the length of the building.
- an enclosed area to the left of the entrance for staff and offices
- an enclosed area to the right of the entrance that houses the meeting area, public lavatories and kitchen facilities.
The Main Space
The main space houses the retail area, reception desk, tea room and exhibition/event area. It is glazed and offers stunning views over different aspects of the evolving fenland landscape that are framed by the timber grid shell arches and open lattice supporting structures. It is this sense of immediacy and participation between the visitor and the wider landscape that the design emphasises. The visitor centre can be seen as a giant hide that affords both shelter and protected views. We envisage that visitors may want to sit and look out onto the different landscape views for hours, perhaps following the flight of birds or watching the reeds rustle in the wind against the wide expanse of sky and the distant forests of Holme Fen. In the summer months the cafe can extend into the exterior deck.
As well as being a place for reflection and the quiet enjoyment of the immediate landscape and the wider horizon, the Visitor Centre will be an active hub for the Great Fen. The main space is conceived as flexible with both defined uses such as shop and tearoom and more open areas that can, for example, be used for exhibitions, education purposes, private events or craft activities. It has been designed without partitions that will obstruct views but by the placement of furniture pieces such as the reception desk and a low glass tank that will display an anaerobic environment and can contain the tearoom area.