Hardwick Hall Park

location:

Durham

client:

Private

role:

Architecture

sector:

Public & Leisure

status:

Competition

A new visitor interpretation centre provides a welcome departure from the generic

Set within the grounds of Hardwick Park, this proposal for a new visitor interpretation centre provides a welcome departure from the generic. The form is designed using lessons learned from bridge-building technology; each skeletal sector being clad in corten steel cladding for a naturally protected ‘rust’ finish.

A series of Victorian follies are located on strict geometric lines from the House and, in order to avoid ambiguity, the new centre sits as a ‘found’ object in a wooded site, imitating the natural forms such as a seed pod.