THE CLEARING IN THE WOODS

Competition for a visitor centre for the Woodland Trust

COMPETITION

Our entry for this competition, "The Clearing in the Woods" sought to recreate and reveal the experience of being in a woodland, through the architecture of the building. It is formed of three key elements: As a point of arrival, The Belvedere is a place for gathering, with an open wood-burning fireplace to huddle around after a winters walk, framing views out to the landscape beyond.

The main hall, The Clearing, is entirely enclosed, with light filtering through the layered polycarbonate skin, and an oculus skylight offering a Turellian view of the sky above. The Trunk houses the services and ancillary spaces, with a café opening out to The Belvedere. It is clad in timber with minimal openings to form a homogeneous object set against the landscape.