Savill Building one of four new TRADA case studies

A Timber Research and Development Association product story

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Sep 27, 2007

Timber Research and Development Association expand popular case study area on its website with addition of four new case studies, including the 2007 Gold Wood Award-winning Savill Building.

This stunning building is the visitor centre for the Great Park, the historic 14,000 acre (5,665ha) forest and woodland park to the south of Windsor.

The brief from the client, the Crown Estate, required that timber from the park be used where possible.

Glenn Howells Architects have followed this requirement to the letter: the building is roofed with an undulating gridshell of park-grown larch laths, while oak from the park was used for the roof's outer rainscreen, floor and also for external features.

The second is the education and exhibition building at the acclaimed tourist attraction and horticultural centre, the Eden Project.

Known as 'The Core', the building features a doubly-curved timber lamella grid roof structure.

All structural timber for frame and cladding was sourced from sustainable forests in Europe.

Another visitor centre, combined with restaurant, is the third new case study.

The Refectory at Norwich Cathedral, the first stage of development to help sustain the future life of this important church, was completed in 2004 and received the Gold Medal at the Wood Awards that year.

The new structure, again designed by Hopkins Architects, has been carefully integrated within original archaeological fragments and offers new, much needed facilities - restaurant, public WCs, disabled access and library extension.

Last but not least, Inn The Park is a new restaurant in St James' Park, the oldest of London's Royal Parks.

The brief from the client, the Royal Parks Agency (RPA), was 'to create a high quality and low-profile building which must nevertheless advertise its presence'.

This is certainly fulfilled by the laminated timber columns and flitched timber beam structure, which features timber internal and external cladding, wood flooring and timber balustrades.