Volunteer Training and Working Centre, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust

Project Overview

The design needed to respect and enhance its rural setting next to a nature reserve whilst also creating a practical and usable working space.

Natural materials local to the centre were sought where possible for what needed to be a low maintenance building that blended into its setting when viewed from afar, like a well camouflaged hide.

Due to its location next to new lagoons serving Rutland Water, there was the opportunity to include a viewing gallery and training facility on an upper floor.

Steeply sloping sedum covered rooflines and a sweeping eyebrow shape over the entrance echo the lines of the landscape and the movement of the wildlife. Gabion baskets protect the external faces and the finishes will weather and develop naturally over time, drawing the building into its landscape.