Visitor Centre in Preston
From a distance, the new visitor centre in the Brockholes nature reserve, Lancashire, resembles a historic group of pile dwellings. Erected in the form of a floating island attached to a concrete pontoon, the complex can rise with the level of the water by up to three metres. The sustainable oak-clad ensemble with its open squares, is anchored to four steel posts. The steep roofs function as thermal stacks. Light weight prefabricated panels to the walls and roof contain insulation.They are used structurally to provide shear bracing and allow for slender internal Y-columns and free the structure of cross-bracing or purlins. Split oak shingles lend the visitor centre its special character.
