Project: Bedfords Park Visitor Centre
Client: Essex Wildlife Trust
Contract Value: £498,000
The visitor hall has an open-vaulted timber roof with cantilevered gable ends, giving prominence to the Centre and providing contrast with the low-pitched roof of the original pavilion. Exposed glulam rafters and structural softwood decking support the main roof, which is clad in natural slate.
The observation room, converted from a redundant café, was originally supported on external timber columns that had become badly weathered and vandalised. These columns were removed with the roof supported on steel wires hung from a central steel mast. The roof is clad in a blanket of sedum plants to assist summer cooling and provide additional warmth in winter.