National Wildflower Centre | Conservation, Education & Innovation Centre Design Proposal

Client: National Wildflower Centre

The design of the National Wildflower Centre has been determined by two fundamental considerations: firstly, the local relationship between buildings (both existing and proposed) and landscaping, and secondly, the aspiration for national recognition through architectural design.

Priority has been given to establishing a harmonious connection between buildings and gardens, the creation of strong, stimulating architectural spaces, the development of well-addressed and flexible functionality, the expression of modern natural sciences in the built form, and sustainable design.

The overall massing has been arranged along the line of the existing western garden boundary wall, replacing garages, a polytunnel and a seed cleaning shed. This creates a long central open garden space, emphasising the landscape against the flanking of the existing linear building to the east and the new building to the west.

The building is organised on two levels. The ground floor accommodates the operational areas and forms a brick plinth on which the first floor public areas are located. It is served by the adjacent road to the west and benefits from several access points. Plant production, seed cleaning, dispatch and deliveries have been clustered together within close distance of the external pot plant storage area to the south.

The first floor primary public functions become the defining elements of the overall building: the exhibition and conference space, the seminar rooms and the classrooms are expressed as individual volumes with a distinctive internal and external character. Their leaf-like plan shape allows for flexible accommodation of a variety of functions and internal layouts. The repetition of identical plan shapes allows for economies of scale and off-site manufacturing, leading to better value, a short construction programme and superior detailing quality. The classroom volumes are designed for efficient natural ventilation through stack effects. South-facing roofs accommodate photovoltaic panels and slope towards a central water channel, designed for rainwater harvesting. Suitably sized wall perforations arranged to reflect interference patterns found in nature allow ample daylight and views onto the gardens. Full blackout will be possible through drop-down curtains or blinds. Additional north-facing clerestory fenestration provides strict non-glare daylight illumination. Classrooms benefit from enclosed wash basins for cleaning after messy activity. Fibre-reinforced pre-camber Glulam timber beams and structural insulated timber panel walls define the principal structure and envelope of the classrooms and conference areas. Visually, the timber structure is ‘perched’ on the brick plinth below. The timber is sustainably sourced and the timber cladding is left untreated, with a natural finish. The brick is similar to that used in the adjoining stables buildings.

The proposed design allows for a variety of simultaneous uses. The ground floor operations are spatially and functionally separate. The conference and classrooms suites can operate independently of each other in parallel, or can be combined into one large capacity venue. Depending on demand, each side can scale up by overflowing into rooms from the other suite. The seminar rooms adjacent to the main conference hall can be operated independently, creating further commercial opportunities. The first floor benefits from sufficient pre-function space to accommodate the simultaneous operation of all classroom and conference spaces. The western wall of the building, adjacent to the pre-function spaces is clad in transparent glass and coloured ceramic tiles, arranged in a fractal Danzer aperiodic pattern.