Project Title: Culloden Battlefield Visitor’s Centre
Location: Culloden, Inverness, Scotland
Wood Species Used: SCOTTISH LARCH, BRITISH OAK
Project Description
The new Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre was the result of an international design competition held by the National Trust for Scotland in 2004. The virtually untouched site of the last battle fought on British soil, in which King George II’s Government Troops defeated the last Jacobite uprising under Bonnie Prince Charles in 1746, is of major historical significance. The project, which includes the reinterpretation and reinstatement of the landscape of the battlefield, was designed by Gareth Hoskins Architects in collaboration with exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates, with input from a wide range of historians and archaeologists.
Purpose of project
The new building is three times the size of the existing facilities it replaces and is designed for up to 250,000 visitors a year, housing interpretation of the battle along with educational and conference facilities, a 240 cover cafe and restaurant, a shop and staff/ancillary accommodation.
Design approach
The new centre and landscape routes were designed to be fully accessible in line with the National Trust for Scotland’s access policy. The building is located within a conservation area containing a number of scheduled ancient monuments. The site is extremely sensitive and of national and international significance; therefore planning consultations involved Historic Scotland, Scottish National Heritage, Royal Fine Arts Commission as well as The Highland Council which set strict parameters for heights, views, and materials.
Reasons for method of construction
The building is constructed in steel frame with concrete floor slab and highly insulated timber walls and roofs. Apart from the poured concrete floors and foundations, the structure is completely demountable.
All timber was specified as being from managed sources. External walls are mainly clad with untreated Scottish Larch from a nearby estate; other areas are clad with local Caithness Stone and field stones salvaged from the site. Internal timber linings are made from untreated Scottish Larch with all other joinery made from oiled British Oak. Large internal and external floor areas are covered with local Caithness flagstones, both minimising carbon loading from transport and processing. The roof is a covered with a recyclable TPO membrane. More than 1000m2 are used as a public viewing terrace and are covered with an intensive green roof system.
The building has a small surface:area ratio to minimise heat loss. Orientation and roof form are manipulated to maximise glare free daylight and natural ventilation. At the restaurants, kitchen and education room, the curved roofs distribute north east light evenly via clerestorey windows. The curved roofs form an overhang to the south east glazed terraces for shading and shelter. A long north facing clerestorey to the orientation and interpretation areas allows glare free lighting to these areas. The challenge of the Interpretation Area was to design a naturally ventilated building that could respond to extremely high visitor loads during summer high season. A passive ventilation system was developed, combining opening windows and low-level vents, with high-level ventilation via parapets and roof cowls. The system is generally wind-driven, orientated towards the battlefield and prevailing winds. Low speed plate fans, concealed within the roof cowls, provide increased airflow for extreme conditions e.g. high visitor numbers on a still summer day. The building is constructed as a lightweight, high response timber/steel envelope on a massive insulated stone/concrete floor incorporating under floor heating. Thermal mass evens out temperature swings for the 12+ hour daily useage and the thermally responsive shell adjusts quickly to occupation. The construction included above regulation levels of thermal insulation. The intensive green roof over the interpretation area also contributes some thermal insulation and mass to the fabric of this element.
BUILDING OWNER: NATIONAL TRUST FOR SCOTLAND
ARCHITECT: GARETH HOSKINS ARCHITECTS
BUILDER / MAIN CONTRACTOR: MORRISON CONSTRUCTION
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: DAVID NARRO ASSOCIATES
JOINERY: MORRISON CONSTRUCTION
WOOD SUPPLIER: RUSTWOOD TIMBER – SCOTTISH LARCH
