Chiltern Hills Gateway Centre

The sleek Visitor Centre provides a unique experience and vastly improved facilities for all those visiting the magnificent landscape of Chiltern Hills at Dunstable Downs. Commissioned by Bedfordshire County Council in partnership with The National Trust, the purpose-designed centre replaces an undistinguished kiosk snack bar with basic visitor facilities.

Location

Chilterns, UK

Area

605 m2

Status

Completed

Year

2006

Client

Bedfordshire County Council & The National Trust

The building provides a rich visitor experience for the 400,000 people who visit each year. The centre is located at Bedfordshire’s highest point, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

From the outset, Architype intended to create a highly sustainable building, so the centre includes many green technologies including a wood chip boiler, rain water recycling, and a beautiful, unusual, ‘windcatcher’ that captures air from the hill naturally and delivers it into the building through a 90 m long underground concrete 'earth duct'.

Constructed on an exceptionally windy site, the new centre features an elegant wing-shaped roof that appears to ‘hover’ on the hillside. Its form allows it to withstand extremely heavy wind loads, and also to reflect two of the main leisure activities of the area – kite and glider flying.

The building, along with the car parks and landscaped areas, is nestled into the existing contours in order to reduce impact on the immediate surroundings. The fully glazed public viewing deck provides panoramic views across the Vale of Aylesbury and along the Chilterns ridge. The Centre is entered via a paved court directly facing the main entrance, on the other side of the building from the viewing deck. The entrance court’s sunny south facing position makes it ideal for enjoying refreshments outside.

Architype has created a popular building. The flexible design combines innovative environmental strategies, indoor and outdoor educational activities, leisure pursuits, café facilities, and successful building operations.

Jeremy Sutton, The Centre Building Manager

Vision

All vision

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Design

The Chilterns Gateway Centre is positioned at a key visitor site within the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and great consideration is given to the building’s location within its immediate surroundings. The site layout includes a carefully designed sequential approach to the building, which collects visitors arriving by different means and orientates all towards the building entrance. Visitors arriving by coach, bicycle or car will pass across the hills with the downland interpretative gardens.

The development of the centre has been designed with a rigorous environmental agenda, with great consideration given to reduction in use of fossil fuel energy and the adoption of a palette of ecologically sound and non-toxic materials.

Expertise

Harnessing the wind

Architype designed a 'wind catcher' that captures the air from the hill naturally and delivers it into the building through a 90 m long underground concrete 'earth pipe'.