Back in January TRP and I roused ourselves from
the general fug of post Christmas-time and spent a couple of late nights
working on a little competition for the Woodland Trust. A very nice one
actually, a small visitor centre for a woodland that has yet to be planted -
the idea of a new forest nestled within ancient ones is something special.
That was a good starting point; our building would initially exist in an empty clearing, we imagined it as a glass-y box hovering in a mist of clustered timber columns. Then, as the woodland begins to grow the columns around the building envelope dissipate into the new growth. As the trees mature, the visitor centre is no longer an abstracted forest in an empty space but a clearing within the canopy of dense woodland.
Building as woodland in clearing > building as clearing in woodland. I still think it's a strong narrative. We were happy with the submission, a simple, axial plan, decent images…
That was a good starting point; our building would initially exist in an empty clearing, we imagined it as a glass-y box hovering in a mist of clustered timber columns. Then, as the woodland begins to grow the columns around the building envelope dissipate into the new growth. As the trees mature, the visitor centre is no longer an abstracted forest in an empty space but a clearing within the canopy of dense woodland.
Building as woodland in clearing > building as clearing in woodland. I still think it's a strong narrative. We were happy with the submission, a simple, axial plan, decent images…
The shortlist of three was announced today. We
didn't make it. That's ok, there were over 250 entries. Perhaps the judges
didn't dig our 'Don't Look Now' icy vibe...well, no images released as yet so
I'm reserving all judgment until I see the chosen submissions...
