WELL-INSULATED WALLS MEAN SERIOUS MEETINGS CAN TAKE PLACE NEXT TO A ROOM FULL OF EBULLIENT SCHOOLCHILDREN

摘要

The Attenborough Wildlife Trust, near Nottingham, was a relatively inexperienced client when it commissioned a visitor centre for its wetlands reserve. Although the site is ideal for spotting birds, it is by no means remote. It is at the end of a road and vandalism had . been a problem. Any new building had, therefore, to be robust and to result in an improvement to the way that the area is" treated. In this it has succeeded admirably, with a building that is unsatisfactory in only one way — the energy consumption at the end of the first summer is higher than anticipated. The reason for this? That visitor numbers have been much higher than predicted. The architect, Groundworks Architects, has a reputation for environmentally conscious design, a philosophy it has applied on this project. In fact, there was a planning requirement for 'total sustainability', since the building has been allowed on greenbelt land. There was a total budget of £1.8 million, with construction making up £1.2 million. Some of this cash came via aggregate tax from RMC - the lake was created through its dredging operations. A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund provided most of the rest.