Woodlands Trust

WOODLANDS TRUST

Competition

Woodlands Trust Visitor Centre

Our vision for the new visitor centre

Our vision is to blend a subtle and delicate contemporary architectural design with the dramatic vertical nature of the forest – promoting UK tree species and providing an inspirational and curious environment for visitors. The result is a unison of man-made structure and organic appearing elements.

How it interprets and engages the site

A stylised interpretation of 22 native tree species have been created (based on average heights, canopy widths and trunk girth) to present a bold and dynamic journey from the car park to the hub. The shards represent: alders, apples, ashes, birches, beeches, box, cherries/plums, elms, hawthorns, hazels, hornbeams, hollies, junipers, lindens, maples, oaks, pines, poplars, rowans/whitebeams, strawberry trees, willows and yews.

Whilst although visually striking, our aim is to remain harmonious and familiar with the surrounding landscape. With deep tones and character, the steel oxide patina will immediately blend into the surrounding woodlands earthy tones and become harmonious with the landscape.

Each shard features a small narrative on the species represented, the names of people who have had trees planted / dedicated for them and the bespoke leaf pattern from that species engraved into the steel. As the sun travels, the leaf patterns will provide a beautiful and dramatic array of shadows for visitors to observe.

The orientation of the visitor hub is such that the main function space will look out across the vale towards the woodlands, linking into footpaths and the memorial sculpture.

How it deals with practical issues

The simple arrangement of rooms in the hub have been determined to allow for internal and external access as required both during the day and out-of-hours use. The hub is based on a simple structural grid that would be easy to construct, cost-effective and could be extended in the future.

What it will be made of, where the components will come from and who will make it.

The main shards of our design are made of a unfinished weathering steel which when left out in exposed external conditions develops an outer layer patina that protects the steel from natural corrosion. It requires almost no maintenance, is manufactured from recycled content and can be fully recycled after use.

The patina is of particular importance to our concept as the ever-changing sways of colour and texture that develops throughout the months and years will provide visitors with a reminder of warm autumnal colours and is reminiscent of aging timber bark, providing a rich tactile quality.

We have strived to source all materials required for the project within a 6 mile radius of the site – the shards will be manufactured and delivered from nearby steel fabricators, 4 of which available within 5km of the site.

Timber strips used on the hub façade will be sourced from the vale itself and reclaimed from nearby sites and salvage yards – each strip providing a unique narrative, texture, tone and adding further to the richness of the buildings tapestry.

 

Competition

The Gallery

Images

Unit3 are an award winning multi-disciplinary design studio based in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. We work across three design sectors (architecture, graphic design and creative media) and help clients across the UK and internationally achieve great designs.

If you have a project in mind and would like to meet us, get in touch!