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New Visitor Facilities, Glencoe

Brief

The National Trust for Scotland asked for a design strategy that minimised the impact of visitors while maximising their appreciation and understanding of this highly visited and much climbed, yet ecologically sensitive area. The project is now complete.

Design Materials

The visitor facilities comprise a group of buildings designed in the vernacular form of a clachan (a small highland village). Individual buildings are domestic in scale, sitting low in the landscape and using materials and elements chosen for their environmental credentials: external doors and windows as well as the internal floor boards were manufactured locally from untreated Scottish oak, the internal doors made from a variety of Scottish hardwoodsThe use of locally sourced biofuel for heating, coupled with extremely high insulation levels, and the conservation and on site treatment of water are also proposed as part of the "light footprint" approach. It is intended that the management and running of the facilities will reflect and reinforce the environmental philosophy of the buildings and their infrastructure.

Awards

Dynamic Places Award 2002
Visit Scotland - Green Tourism Award 2002
Edinburgh Architectural - Association Sustainability Award 2002
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - Sustainability Award 2003