23 December 2009
Epping Forest Interpretation Centre design unveiled
Freeland Rees Roberts Architects have been chosen to design a new
Interpretation Centre next to Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge in
Epping Forest for the City of London Corporation. The
Interpretation Centre will link and refurbish the nearby Coach
Houses with a new two storey extension. The contemporary design
will use traditional materials which will harmonise with the
existing surrounding buildings. The proposals keep intervention to
the external fabric of the existing buildings to a minimum and the
use of oak framing for the new elements matches the timber framed
Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge.
The aim of the development is to improve the site as a location
for educational and leisure visits with a classroom, display area,
external landscaping and to provide more effective use of staff
offices and storage for the museum collection and to enhance the
setting of Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge.
Barbara Newman, Chairman of the Epping Forest and Commons
Committee at the City of London Corporation said: "The
Interpretation Centre will be a very exciting addition to the
education offering at Epping Forest. I am confident that it will
encourage many more people to visit the Forest and learn about its
heritage."
Tania Gomez-Duran, Architect and Associate at Freeland Rees
Roberts Architects, said: "Our practice has been involved with this
project since 2006. We submitted proposals for the Stage 1 Heritage
Lottery Funding application, which received planning approval in
November 2008 and successful Stage 2 Heritage Lottery Funding was
secured in Spring 2009. The proposals reinforce the feeling of the
stable yard and maintain the important views to the northeast
towards Chingford Plain and the Forest beyond. They also draw the
visitor from the road into the new landscaped forecourt, through
the bold but simple transparent infill between the Coach House
buildings that frame the entrance and from there into the
courtyard. The rear elevation of the infill is glazed to maximise
views towards the forest and an oak framed viewing platform enables
glimpses back to QEHL. The minimal intervention reduces the impact
of the new infill from the Forest, and does not detract from the
Hunting Lodge."
One of three visitor centres in the Forest managed by the City
is the historic Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge in Chingford, a
charming timber framed ‘hunt-standing’ actually built for
Elizabeth’s father Henry VIII in 1543 and used as a base for one of
his many hunting parks. The City now hopes to make major
improvements to the Forest with an ambitious £6.8m Branching Out
project, which has been made possible with a grant from Heritage
Lottery Fund. Freeland Rees Roberts have been designing a new
Interpretation Centre as a part of a larger programme of work which
includes refurbishment of an adjacent listed tea room, work to
veteran trees, access improvements and implementing a grazing
strategy to encourage biodiversity.
Project Team
Client: City of London Corporation
Architects: Freeland Rees Roberts Architects, Cambridge
Contractor: To be announced in 2010
Quantity Surveyor: Ernest Pasterfield & Partners
Structural Engineer: Hockley & Dawson
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Beveridge Associates
CDM Coordinator: Stace LLP
Ends
Notes to the Editor
- At almost 6,000 acres, Epping Forest is the largest public open
space in the London area. It is a popular area for recreation and
of national and international conservation importance, with two
thirds of it being designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest
and a Special Area of Conservation. In the second half of the 19th
century large areas of the Forest were being enclosed for
development, with little regard for commoners’ grazing rights or
general recreational needs. The City of London’s concern over this
was so great that it joined forces with the commoners and in 1878
forced through two ground-breaking Acts of Parliament. One of these
entrusted the ownership and care of Epping Forest to the City, the
second made provision for other open spaces under threat such as
Hampstead Heath marking the beginning of the ‘Green Belt’ for
controlling the expansion of London.
- The City of London Corporation is a uniquely diverse
organisation in that it not only promotes and supports the City and
provides it with a full range of services but also provides wider
services for London and for the nation as a whole.
- For press enquiries on Epping Forest, contact Loretta Lui on
0207 332 1528 or email
loretta.lui@cityoflondon.gov.uk.
For more information on the Branching Out Project, contact
Catherine Cavanagh on 0208 532 1010 or email
catherine.cavanagh@cityoflondon.gov.uk
- Freeland Rees Roberts Architects’ key areas of expertise
include: Historic Buildings & Conservation; Schools, Colleges
& Universities; Local Authority; Sport & Leisure; Private
Houses; Residential Schemes; Churches & Cathedrals; Commercial
& Workplace; Healthcare and Libraries.
- For further media information on Freeland Rees Roberts
Architects’, interview or high resolution images, please contact
Carri Crook, Carisma Communications, on 01366 387 027 or on mobile
0791 76 777 55