Brockholes Nature Reserve And Visitors Centre
Sponsored by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Forestry Commission in the United Kingdom, the competition for a new Visitor’s Center for the Brockholes Nature Reserve near Preston in Lancashire set a series of ambitious goals, among them being the creation of a nature conservation site of regional, national and international importance. The restoration of the project site and adjacent land is part of Britain’s largest land regeneration program ever. The project site is composed of 261 acres of land on which an operating gravel quarry currently sits. The site is surrounded by 163 acres of additional woodlands and is bounded on the south and east by the River Ribble, on the north by the Boilton Woods and on the west by the M6 Motorway. Preston has a somewhat cold and wet climate typical of the northwest UK. Although the chance of occurrence is generally small, the site is prone to flooding. The need to address the flooding issue coupled with the client’s desire to site the building and associated facilities in the general area of the existing quarry facilities led us to select a prominent ridge as the ideal perch for the structure.
Images and text from : Studio Shift
