Northumberlandia Pavilion

Recognising a need to rethink the entrance experience, the piece creates a focal point on arrival, which was developed and constructed despite the challenges of the pandemic.

The gentle curving form provides seating which shelters visitors from the prevailing wind. The benches accommodate the day-to-day visitors and a second tier expands its capacity for school classes engaging in wild learning. On one side, the tiers transition to a low-level lectern, providing a dedicated space for the Wildlife Trust to place interpretation panels in the future.

The design focused on ease of construction, repair, and sustainability, while adapting to the constraints imposed by the pandemic. It has been designed and constructed using an external grade plywood, enabling production of the individual pieces through use of a flat-bed CNC router so that it could be manufactured with low public contact.

Assembled in modules off-site using standardised nuts and bolts, the structure was easily transportable allowing for quick assembly on to a minimal impact sub-frame of reclaimed larch founded on fence spikes. This created a fully demountable system, avoiding tree roots and eliminating the need for any concrete.

Overall, the Northumberlandia Pavilion encapsulates a responsive adaptation to architectural method through experimentation, collaboration, and manufacture against the odds of the pandemic. It illustrates the desire to overcome limitations and the often-forgotten value of hands-on learning in architectural education.