Tortoise Enclosure
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Paul McAneary Architects Ltd Download Original
Providing shelter and safety for these beautiful creatures was the main brief for this captivating small project
The design encapsulates a modest but intricate idea, a chipped faced sandstone wall acts as an architectural plane creating a threshold for a thoroughly adapted tortoise sanctuary behind.
The concealed building is formed of four simple super insulated walls, supporting a completely frameless double glazed unit. Our design intent was to feel, when inside this building, that there was nothing above, no sense of a roof, the tortoises would feel the radiant heat from the sun and see the blue sky above.
The box is clad in burnt cedar, a technique we created to remove the need for harmful chemical treatments, whilst still maintaining a beautiful, hard wearing long lasting material. Bronze details and joints preserve the structure for it’s long and ecological life.
Data
- Begun: Apr 2010
- Completed: Apr 2011
- Floor area: 8m2
- Total cost: £18,000
- Procurement: Bespoke contract - four individual sub contracts
- CO2 Emissions: 180kg/m2/year
- Address: Holywood, BT18, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Paul McAneary Architects
- Client: Tom Lloyd
