About
Architect: Erectarchiture
Contractor: Ash Contracting
Sector: Charity – Public Education Facility
Overview
The wildlife reserve at Camley Street was a once a coal drop for the railways into nearby King’s Cross Railway Station, which was demolished in the 1960’s. Since then, it has been colonised by nature, so the Trust ran a campaign to save the site from development and instead create a nature reserve, Camley Street Natural Park.
The Brief
The visitor centre has open displays and views over the reserve, with the building constructed from recycled and renewable materials to keep the sites carbon footprint to a minimum. Part of the design brief is that the open spaces within the building be naturally ventilated to reduce the carbon footprint and reduce expensive costs associated with mechanical ventilation.
Our Solution
The structure is two storeys with a bespoke trapezoidal design. To minimise space, we designed a natural ventilation strategy that would fit discreetly into the sides of the timber cladding at eaves level. The sides of the building are fitted with a series of low-level and high-level perimeter louvres fitted with modulating dampers behind with a perforated inner screen to hide the mechanical elements. The external louvre is fitted with ash timber slats to blend into the nature beyond. Cool air is drawn into the building at low level that circulates through the space rising and exhausted at high level through a series of perimeter louvres and dampers set below the trapezoidal roof caps.
