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Scottish Seabird Centre

Simpson & Brown, North Berwick, 2000

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Acute copper roof pitch defines main entrance

Keith Hunter Download Original

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Set upon a rocky promontory beside the old harbour and exposed to the sea and the weather, the centre allows visitors the opportunity to view the island birdlife by remote-control TV cameras

The centre was first as the hub of a communications network linked to discreetly located cameras among the bird colonies on the islands in the Forth, particularly the puffins on Fidra and the gannets on the Bass, one of the largest and most important colonies in the world.

Visitors are able to watch the seabirds on large screens, year round and in real time, as if on a camera obscura. At the same time, the birds themselves are protected from disturbance by visitors to the islands.

The new building is robustly built with a dry stone weather screen, rough sawn larch boarding and a copper roof supported on solid, larch trusses. Its unusual shape reflects the panoramic views of all the islands and the need for a welcoming entrance to draw people into this landmark building.