Giants Causeway Ireland, Photos, Moyle Building, Center, Irish World Heritage Site

Giant's Causeway Visitor Facilities, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Visitor Centre Building - design by Heneghan Peng Architects

4 Jul 2012 Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre Giant's Causeway World Heritage Site, Northern Ireland Design: Heneghan Peng Architects The building has now been completed. photo : Marie-Louise Halpenny The Giant’s Causeway lies on the Causeway Coast World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland in a landscape of cliffs formed by hexagonal basalt stones, agricultural landscapes and cliffside walks. Historically a tourist site, tourism continues to be an essential part of the local economy. The visitor centre helps to manage the beautiful and fragile landscape and is a resource to those who visit the site. The design for the visitor centre was the subject on an international architectural completion in 2005. An international jury selected the winning design from 201 entries. photos : Marie-Louise Halpenny BUILDING DESCRIPTION The site for the visitor centre at the Giant's Causeway is located below the ridgeline on the landward side of the cliff. By utilising the large difference in level across the site, two folds are created in the landscape. One, extending the line of the ridge, accommodates the building. The second, extending the level of the road, accommodates the car park screening it from view. The two folds create strong lines in the landscaping, drawing all the man-made interventions together and organising the disparate requirements of the visitor centre into a singular intervention in the landscape. There is no longer a building and landscape but building becomes landscape and the landscape itself remains spectacular and iconic. The lines that create the folds are made from a series of stacked basalt columns quarried locally Kilrea, from the same lava flows which formed the Causeway (not from the Causeway area itself as the local rock strata is protected) The visitor centre is the public gateway to the World Heritage Site and has a range of conservation designations. The aspirations for this project in every way are of the highest order as befits its location, excellence in architectural and landscape design, excellence in interpretative design, excellence in sustainable practices and construction. The project’s design has received a BREEAM* “Excellent” rating. *BREEAM is the world's foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings www.BREEAM.org photos : Marie-Louise Halpenny 10 Principles for Sustainability at the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre 1. Passive Design and Carbon Reduction The building facades and roof exceed NI Building Regulations requirements by at least 50%. The Green Roof and concrete contribute significantly to the building’s performance. 2. A Fresh and Comfortable Internal Environment Air at a comfortable temperature is introduced at a low level and extracted at a high level giving a comfortable and energy efficient internal environment. 3. Heated by the Earth | Cooled by the Earth 4.5km of pipework under the car park utilize geothermal energy for heating. Cool earth is used for cooling with 1km of earth pipes adjacent to the visitor centre. 4. Local and Sustainable Materials The basalt is locally quarried in Kilrea, from the same lava flows which formed the Causeway (not from the Causeway area itself as the local rock strata is protected). Concrete with a high recycled content is used. 5. Water Conservation The following water conservation and management features have been incorporated: • Rainwater recovery and Grey water recovery from green roof used for toilet flushing • Low water dual flush WCs & Waterless urinals • Permeable paving, the green roof and rainwater harvesting reduce surface water run-off. 6. Site Ecology The replacement visitor creates a green roof and grassed ramp to increase the available green space. The mix of grasses planted on the green roof and ramp was grown from seed collected from the surrounding fields to preserve the delicate ecology of the area. The National Trust have the knowledge and skill to maintain the native planting and encourage the biodiversity of the site. 7. Accessibility The new Centre makes the site more accessible and the exhibition provides information on the diversity of the site. Access for all is enhanced by the regular shuttle bus that leads to the stones greatly opening up the beauty of the site to a wider group. 8. Economic Sustainability Tourism is vitally important to the local economy within and around the Causeway Coast area. The new visitor centre has the potential to generate additional income for local businesses. The ‘Park and Ride’ system based in Bushmills reduces traffic congestion at the Causeway site and provides sustainable economic links with the town. 9. Waste Management To reduce the waste generated by the replacement visitor centre, the National Trust have implemented a policy of recycling and composting for the site. As an organisation the National Trust strongly promotes the need to reduce waste. 10. Culture and Heritage The Giant’s Causeway is of interest to a wide range of people due to its legends, history, geology and ecology. The visitor centre opens up the story of the site to the public providing educational resources on the site’s various aspects. Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre - Building Information Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Client: National Trust Size: 1,800 sqm Date: 2005 (Competition) Structures: Arup Building Services: Bennett Robertson QS / PM: Edmond Shipway Facade Engineering: Dewhurst MacFarlane Planning: Turley Associates Civils: White Young Green Landscape: heneghan peng architects (Concept design) ; Mitchell + Associates (Implementation) Exhibition Design: Event Specialist Lighting: Bartenbach Lichtlabor Accessibility: Buro Happold Acoustics: FR Mark BREEAM: SDS Energy Fire |Traffic | Environmental: Arup Specification: Davis Langdon Architecture, Landscape Concept and Interiors: heneghan peng architects Competition Shih-Fu Peng, Róisín Heneghan (Project Directors) Chris Hillyard, Aideen Lowery, Marcel Piethan Project Design & Construction Stages Shih-Fu Peng, Róisín Heneghan (Project Directors) Julia Loughnane (Project Architect) Monika Arcynska, Jorge Taravillo Canete, Chris Hillyard, Kathrin Klaus, Carmel Murray, Padhraic Moneley, Catherine Opdebeeck, Helena del Rio. Giant's Causeway Competition, Northern Ireland Giant's Causeway World Heritage Site Design: Heneghan Peng Architects Approval Jan 2009 - Northern Ireland Environment Minister rules no appeal referral for the planning application, so construction can now proceed: Giant's Causeway Visitor Facilities Heneghan Peng Architects picture from architects Giants Causeway Visitor Centre : background to the new facilities Giants Causeway Visitor Centre design : Heneghan Peng Giant's Causeway Travel Address: 11 Lodge Road, Coleraine, Northern Ireland BT52 1LU Giant's Causeway - Contact: 44 (0)28 7032 7720

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photo : Christopher Heaney
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image © Hisao Suzuki
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Giants Causeway Visitor Centre Ireland Architecture : page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt

Website: www.giantscausewayireland.com

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