Transcript Slide 1

Design Considerations
Inform and Influence
Emphasis on physics, nuclear physics and astronomy.
Best practice
Innovative design
Sustainable construction
Mindful of West Cumbria Master plan and Energy Coast Initiative
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Cockermouth School is an 11 - 19 Local Authority maintained, co-educational comprehensive school
which serves the town of Cockermouth and surrounding villages.
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The school presently has 1421 pupils on roll, 310 of whom are in the Sixth Form, housed in a planned
single site building on Castlegate Drive. Cockermouth School is recognised by Ofsted as a 'high
achieving school' and has recently been awarded High Performing Specialist School status by the
DCSF.
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The school houses the Learning Support and Autistic Facility for West Cumbria and became a
specialist Mathematics and Computing School in 2003.
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The impact of Specialist School status in mathematics and computing has enhanced the educational
opportunities for all pupils
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Science and particularly Physics is a major strength at Cockermouth School. The number of students
studying Physics has increased over the last decade when nationally these figures are in decline.
There are a number of reasons for this: the students are hard working and employ a good work ethic;
there is a strong Physics department with staff who are dedicated to achieving high standards and
providing good and enthusiastic support for students and the local area has many science based
industries which will employ returning graduates.
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However, the Physics labs at Cockermouth School have seen little change since the school was built
in the mid 1950s.
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The labs provide an uninspiring environment in which to learn. Our intention is to change this by
providing a new facility for Physics which, in addition, will provide support to Energus, the new skills
centre at Lillyhall, the Cumbria Dalton Institute at West Lakes Science and Technology Park and the
National Nuclear Laboratory at Sellafield.
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To inform and influence the building of a Science Skills Laboratory and Planetarium as an exemplar and
sustainable building that will have a particular emphasis on Physics, Nuclear Physics and Astronomy.
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To include examples of best practice in innovative design and sustainable construction, leading by example
in its use of available technologies and future emerging technologies.
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To provide a study of presentational quality which will attract major funding from a variety of different
sources.
Technical brief of labs
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To have as an overarching theme the electromagnetic spectrum and the impact its various components
have on our lives.
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To allow an increased understanding of the universe, its various components and how they relate to the
origins of the universe and seasonal variation.
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To enhance the opportunities for developing an understanding of nuclear processes, including radioactivity,
as central to shaping the universe and the surface of the Earth.
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To measure thermal energy flow as a need to minimize energy in housing and as a mechanism for
rescuing people trapped after earthquakes, remote sensing and other relevant applications.
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To demonstrate that ultra violet radiation is key in unlocking wave particle duality through the photoelectric
effect and also more everyday uses such as detecting forged bank notes, its role in fluorescent lighting and
work to determine which suntan lotion will be most effective at reducing the instance of skin cancer.
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To study the medical uses of electromagnetic radiation from X-ray technology through the use of
radioactive tracers to endoscopy
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To provide sufficient space to allow the determination of the speed of light.
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To study electrical forces that account for processes in biology and chemistry
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To demonstrate practical examples and experiments in Physics.
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To develop academic and practical skills
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As well as catering for these more specialist needs it will also need to be used as a science lab for wider
science teaching.
• Existing Buildings- work with clients to settle new building in pertinent position
• Work with BREEAM consultant looking at building macro and micro location effects, materials, power
usage, material choice, environment modification against costs and the use of sustainable modifiers
(solar/wind/earth)
• In order to hit the cost brief the labs will have to be simple and expedient construction, the
planetarium will be a form of its function but may be wrapped in a cloak to form a secondary shape
within the interface between the structures.
• Use of local sustainable materials where possible ( this may be changed where off site technology is
more equitable under BREEAM standards) Innovation is the key.
• Show the construction process.
• Use of natural light to give additional benefits of energy reduction and physical awareness of the
environment- where applicable.
• Enhance the aspirations and functionality of project but producing a building that is inspirational,
beautiful and technically proficient.
• Two areas were put forward for the site of the Science Skills Laboratory and Planetarium and these are
shown as site A and B.
• Site A is adjacent to the Year 7 on the west of the site adjacent to Beech Lane., Site B is adjacent to the
Eco Centre on the east of the campus. Negotiations were undertaken internally with the staff, externally
with prospective funders and Cumbria County Council Planning department.
• All parties agreed that Site B dealt with the aspirations of the project.
• Site B provides a visual location for an inspirational building that can be easily controlled both in and
outside of school time, the construction and health and safety matters are easily dealt with on this site and
it also provides the ability to link with the Eco Centre to form a new wing for the school. Additionally this
site does not affect third parties such as adjacent home owners.
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The campus was originally built in 1958 for a school size of 750 pupils. As the school has
been successful it has grown through the addition of several extensions :-
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The east wing in the form of a raised single story area on steel columns was added
in1967
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The main building is a typical 1950’s concrete framed structure with curtain walling to all
elevations. The original open interior courtyard has been filled in 1991 to form a new
sports hall and library.
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The Learning Support and Autistic Facility or LSAF building was added in 2006 and again
matched the existing elevations with metal windows and brick/render elevations.
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A new art room was added in 2007 in brick and render with metal roof and blue double
glazed windows.
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The most recent was the addition of the Eco Centre completed in Aug 2007.
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Consultation with all parties was pivotal to the scheme. The design team met
with the steering group weekly over the design period. Members of the team
also met with the Science Department and pupil groups to obtain their ideas
and aspirations for the project.
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Linked with the internal consultation has been external dialogue with industry
members including Andrew King the Chief Executive of ENERGUS.
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As part of the consultation, Department has set up a forum for the pupils and
staff to comment on the plans, with replies from the design team.
Hooks on chairs for bags- simple or storage in pods
Walls as part of experiment- colour finish- effects of lighting etc, colour wall
Turf roof- to match eco centre- probably a sedum roof rather than turf
Characters for physics- individual characters to explain physics experimentsmaybe the children could design and then these could be used as murals on the
walls etc.
Also need pen whiteboard (this is not a matter for the feasibility but for when we get
into detail design)
Wireless input may not work with many computers – raise
with ICT.
Rooms mostly used for lower school science with some
Biology /Chemistry and then upper school Physics.
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Existing Buildings- work with clients to settle new building
in pertinent position.
Work with BREEAM consultant looking at building macro
and micro location effects, materials, power usage,
material choice, environment modification against costs
and the use of sustainable modifiers (solar/wind/earth).
In order to hit the cost brief the labs will have to be simple
and expedient construction, the planetarium will be a form
of its function but may be wrapped in a cloak to form a
secondary shape within the interface between the
structures.
Use of local sustainable materials where possible ( this
may be changed where off site technology is more
equitable under BREEAM standards) Innovation is the
key.
Show the construction process.
Use of natural light to give additional benefits of energy
reduction and physical awareness of the environmentwhere applicable.
Enhance the aspirations and functionality of project but
producing a building that is inspirational, beautiful and
technically proficient.
Designed around people not technology.
Use of Open plan spaces to reduce the number of
corridors and create an environment where children feel
safe.
Natural Light.
Natural Ventilation-build up in CO2 can effect
concentration
• We investigated a number of typologies for Planetaria, some of
which are shown on the right, the technology for s is rapidly
changing with the invention of virtual environments and
programmes like Microsoft World Telescope and Google World.
However the typology of a Planetarium includes a location for a
central projector, the room is domed shaped with a central unit
and seating, images are projected on the inside of the surface of
the dome
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It should also be noted that the Planetarium is also used to teach the sciences, the design
of the Laboratories and associated room is discussed later in the report. From typologies
the investigations moved to ‘future school design’ and the use of a defining spark for the
structure.
Different images of technology were discussed, including nuclear technology, the new
particle accelerators in CERN and particle (Higgs particle) investigations. However the
breakthrough came after going back to the roots of planetaria and the use of telescopes to
look at the stars and galaxies.
• Whilst looking through galaxies M74 came to view, this was distilled down to its
basic form and superimposed on the site in Scheme 1, it fitted well with the
Planetarium as the central part of the galaxy forms a hub and the arms forming
the two lab wings.
• This design was worked up in Fig 1
• Further to this it was decided to mirror the galaxy, this gave an improved
relationship to the Eco Centre, a more inviting entrance from the school and an
improved secondary entrance for use out of hours from the car park Fig 2
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The building is split into two levels reflecting the topography of the land.
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The lower areas includes the central hub which houses the Planetarium/
Skills Lab 1 and break out area, the lower wing includes the ICT Labs
together with associated rooms.
The Hub is accessed from the school via the main entrance to the
breakout area, then through to the toilets and video wall and onto the
ICT Labs via the rear corridor which is called the Lower Street. The
breakout area has access to the Planetarium through a sound proofed
lobby and joins Lab 1 and 2 which allows the rooms to be jointed
together for specialized experimentation.
The video wall looks out onto bleacher seating (large stepped stadium
style seating arrangement with an access stair to one side); this seating
allows the wall to be used for curricular presentation or extra- curricular
shows. It is intended that the space be used as an informal meeting
area out of school period time and hopefully after school for community
and business users.
The Lower Street can also be accessed via a separate entrance from
the car park for out of hours use. The Lower Street also provides the
access to the Eco Centre.
External doors from Labs 1 and 2 open out into external basement
landscaping that provides for external teaching and rear area for means
of escape.
Within the Lower Street are light wells from the upper street that allow
internal vertical experimentation.
The lower wing ICT Labs form the lower wing of the galaxy that flow
down the slope in small ramps, this allows segmentation of the roof and
the use of north facing windows above the roof line.
The main plant room is located in this area on an external wall as
required by the engineer.
The lower level
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The upper level
•The upper wing or upper street which is accessed via the hub lift or
staircase from the Lower Street includes Skills labs 2 and 3 together with
the Prep room, Tutorial, Office and Meeting room.
• The breakout area is open to the lower area via balcony, allowing a visual
link to the presentation video wall and lower breakout area. The Upper
Street also access to the upper Eco Centre biomes, toilets and stairs.
• The Upper Street has views towards the existing classrooms and play
areas.
•The meeting room at the highest level has views out to countryside. The
kitchen in this area provides the opportunity to have community and
business groups as a revenue stream.
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The model shows the three dimensional layout on site with the
Planetarium/hub at the centre and the two wings flowing from this point
up and down the hill. The Planetarium, Lab 2 and part of the break out
area are part sunk into the ground, the labs have external areas that
can be used externally for experimentation.
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The Planetarium has a rear wall that rises to form a wedge to reflect in
a minor way the rear of the Eco Centre. However the Planetarium
dome sits at the base of this cut cylinder to form a visually different
massing to the area. This central hub area will be made of masonry or
dense material to aid sound proofing in the inner room.
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The wings form segmented structures following the slope of the site,
these wings will be constructed in lightweight materials, timber
structures with hemp (details given in sustainability) or similar infill.
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The external windows to
the labs face west and
north west and have small
overhangs, the windows
form a grid structure of
window, door and infill
panels that can designed
differently within the grid
for each lab whether
science skills or ICT.( see
lab design)
• Cockermouth School has made sustainability a prime design criteria for the
labs, this will be reflected in the choice of construction materials, the use
of active heating and power systems and the specific requirement to have
a BREEAM very good mark for the building. Therefore our meetings and
team negotiations discussed sustainability as a major design factor during
this stage.
• With reference to the site analysis, the sun path, prevailing winds and
other site conditions had an effect on the massing and orientation of the
building.
• The roofs are inclined to give a better angle to the sun for the PV
systems, the north facing roof glazing also allows for natural daylight and
stack cooling effect. The roof will be finished in Sedum to reduce
rainwater run off, this material has low maintenance, good acoustic and
thermal performance and increased biodiversity.
• Included in the mix will be the
requirements of materials and
products to minimize the
environmental impact. Elements
considered include shortage of raw
materials, ecological damage caused
by the extraction of raw material, re
use of on site demolished materials
within the construction, data will be
obtained to confirm energy consumed
in relation to production and delivery
of these materials and detail harmful
emissions , global warming, health
aspects recyclabilty and wasteO2.
General Design Criteria
Department for Children, Schools and Families –
Classrooms of the Future
▪ Flexible, adaptable spaces for formal and informal teaching sessions with large
www.teachernet.gov.uk
and small groups and a new style of teaching and learning.
Building Bulletins
▪ Good visibility and acoustics from all areas of the room
BB80 Science Laboratories in Secondary Schools
▪ More than one location for presentations, experiments and practical
BB88 Fume Cupboards in Schools
demonstrations
BB90 Lighting Design for Schools
▪ Good quality furniture and equipment
BB95 Schools for the Future - Design for Learning
▪ Interactive structure, materials and services
Communities
BB98 Briefing Framework for Secondary School Projects ▪ Plenty of natural ventilation and light.
The International Forum for Innovative Schools –
The language of School Design Patterns for the 21st
Century
BCSE (The British Council for School Environments)
Ideas Book – Global Learning Environments
Sustainable Schools – Getting It Right
Learning Technologies and Schools of the Future
Manifesto for the Learning Environment
BCSE awards celebrate the best in UK school design
and construction
CABE (The Commission for Architecture and the
Built Environment)
Creating Excellent Secondary Schools
Department for Education and Training (Victoria,
Australia) –
Linking Pedagogy and Space
Specific Design Criteria
▪ Minimum area of 90m2 for 30 Key Stage 3 and 4
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pupils
At least 1 gas tap and power socket per pupil
Well labelled, well equipped storage facilities
Good visibility and access to fume cupboards for
demonstrations and experiments
Plenty of storage cupboards and shelving
Closer analysis of our research into laboratory
layouts and teaching spaces revealed that The
Serviced Bollard System (below) offered the most
advantageous layout solutions and addressed
many of the design criteria extracted from our
consultations with Cockermouth School.
Advantages:
▪ Flexible, adaptable teaching spaces
▪ Group work (right)
▪ Whole class activities (far right)
▪ Large adaptable benches with good visibility for all
pupils
▪ Service bollards with sink, gas and power outlets
▪ Versatile storage options
▪ Good wheelchair access and circulation space
▪ A ‘free wall’ for learning resources/visual aids and
alternative presentation areas
Fume cupboard with good visibility
Disadvantages:
▪ Traditional service bollards are fixed
▪ Traditional fume cupboards are fixed
The Solution:
▪ Retractable fume cupboards with fixed telescopic
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ducting systems
Telescopic service bollards
Used in urban landscaping to provide services for
market stall holders, telescopic service bollards
would offer incredible flexibility in a science
laboratory. Capable of incorporating a sink, gas
supplies, power sockets and ICT terminals the pop
up bollard would enable the teacher to adapt the
room to suit many different teaching scenarios.
Science Skills Lab 3
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The unique shape of the proposed lab offers
additional flexibility with:
7 service bollards
Groups of 3-8 pupils can be accommodated around
each bollard
Adequate storage facilities
At least two separate presentation areas
1 fume cupboard with good visibility
• The project is a new building on the site of Cockermouth School in Cockermouth, Cumbria. The proposed building is approximately 1260m2.
• The building will be constructed to exceed the insulation requirements of the current Building Regulations and will be relatively well insulated
and air tight in order to meet the
• requirements or the Approved Document Part L, Conservation of Fuel & Power.
• To maximise the use of renewable energy and low carbon emission energy systems an
• integrated approach to the overall building design should be adopted to minimise energy use, reduce heat losses and minimise unwanted solar
gain. In order to achieve this the following points should be considered during the design process: • · Orientation of Building
• · Roof pitch
• · Optimising glazing of south facing elevations to reduce solar gain
• · Increasing insulation standards beyond Building Regulations minimum
• · Ensure renewable / low carbon emission energy systems are integrated within the
• building fabric and engineering services
• Whilst payback and life cycle costs exercises can be useful to determine selections for plant or normal engineering systems its use for
renewable or low emission technologies and systems is limited and in many cases be counterproductive in maintaining a positive perspective
into the incorporation of such technologies into the proposed building.
• The main factors that affect schools projects
developments are mainly driven by the
• requirement of the improvements in the Building
Regulations Approved Document Part L
• 2006. There will be increased requirements for
the approved document in future years to
• further drive improvements in the energy
efficiency of buildings.
• Five renewable/low/zero carbon technologies are
recommended for consideration on this
• project. Of the five, the 4 preferred are: -
• Solar Hot Water, P.V. Panels, Wind Turbine, Ground Source Heat Pump (Borehole)
• A renewable energy budget is a major factor to viability of the technologies due to the lack of financial payback. The technologies proposed
will provide good annual energy cost savings. A full 3 BREEAM Credits will be available. The proposed systems require very little
maintenance and are therefore suitable for secondary school environment.
• Although outside the general scope of this report it is recommended that the opportunity to install a rainwater collection system be taken, as
these systems are relatively low cost and can provide short payback periods in terms of water cost savings.
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The opportunity should be taken to provide a well insulated and sealed building with controlled ventilation and heat recovery to further
reduce the energy consumption and hence CO2 emissions. These measures are often passive requiring little or no long maintenance
requirements.
• Utilising timber frame building methods allows the use of thick insulating walls whilst minimising building footprint, use of cost effective
insulation and sustainable construction materials.
• Where comfort cooling is deemed necessary
consider a centralised cooling plant whereby the
rejected heat can be usefully recovered to either
heat other areas or
• pre-heat domestic hot water. Ensure heat
exchange recovery is incorporated into controlled
ventilation to recover ‘cool’ from exhausted air.
• We have no information yet on ground conditions on that part of the site, but presumably a site investigation was carried out for the Eco
Centre. A copy of that report may reduce, or even eliminate the need to carry out our own trial pits and/or boreholes.
• The building seems to be at several different floor levels, presumably to make best use of the sloping site. At each change in floor level
there will need to be a tanked retaining wall, and at each change in roof level there will need to be vertical cladding, flashings etc,
• The retaining walls may need to be reinforced concrete, or possibly reinforced concrete filled blockwork.
• Because of the various changes in floor level it is likely that many of the ground floors will need to be suspended beam and block (or possibly
timber) rather than simple ground-bearing concrete. One possible advantage of this is that we may be able to keep some of the excavated
material (from foundation trenches etc) on site as fill below the suspended floors
• We will try as much as possible to construct the superstructure walls and roofs using timber. As you will know this is a good environmentally
friendly material which also allows us to maximise insulation depths in walls and roofs. A timber roof could be used to support the Sedum
roof covering I believe you have in mind.
• As you no doubt know a Sedum roof removes CO2 and other pollutants from the atmosphere and has the added advantage that it helps the
building blend in with its rural setting.
• The central area around Lab 1 will probably need
to be constructed using concrete block or clay
brick walls to give good sound insulation and good
load-bearing strength to support what will probably
need to be concrete floors and roof. These
materials can all be sourced locally to reduce
transport costs etc.
• The dome itself may be best formed using a light
framework of curved steel members, possibly
supported off a grillage of steel beams within the
flat roof space above Lab 1.
• The building shape is good I believe, being
segmental rather than curved. This simplifies wall
and roof panels and almost certainly reduces
costs.
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We will certainly hope to retain as many of the demolition materials on site and re-use them where possible. Items such as bricks,
blocks and concrete slabs can be crushed (either on site or off site) and re-used as sub-base below roads, car parks and
floors. Alternatively, if there are any external retaining walls required, the crushed material could be used to fill Gabions.
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Steel re- use comments:Analysis and desgn team means the re-use of steel is not economic or viable, re-used steel is hard to clean, fabricate and may not be
covered by insurance.
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Much better to sell the second hand steel to a dealer where it will still be recycled one way or another.
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Architects comment:We will try to reuse the steel on site for sculptural not structural elements to show the historical link with the site. It may be possible to
work with local artists for a number of art installations throughout the building re-using site materials.
 The landscape plan and design aims to provide appropriate planting to
complement the existing landscape features but also provide some link to the
Planetarium being designed on a star constellation.
 Landscape plan aims to link both the Eco Centre ethos with the Planetarium
building.
 The landscaping should also aim to soften the building. The large wall at the
back of the Eco Centre could be softened.
 The use of native planting will complement the existing areas and link in with
the Eco Centre and surrounding habitats.
 The car park area should be enhanced as this area detracts from the overall
impact of both the existing Eco Centre and new building.
 An initial thought is for two areas of the planting to use just white flowered
plants, using a simple planting technique. These areas aim to continue the
shape of the constellation and the use of white plants aims to suggest ‘stars’ in
the night sky. The use of a dark wood mulch would aid this image.
 Suggested planting should be a mix of perennials, some annuals and bulbs.
The aim would be to provide some interest all year round but there would be a
summer bias to this planting scheme.
 There may be options to use sculptures or other similar features.
 There could be the option to use bamboo water features or water in other
traditional forms as ponds. It may be possible to create a modern/futuristic
water feature near the main entrance to the Planetarium. Use of metal water
features.
 Willow weave areas could be incorporated in to walkways to create ‘tunnel’
walkways.
 The use of hard landscaping is limited but paths or entrances could
incorporate the themes within the use of the building. This could start at the
car park.
 Existing rock armour features and walls could be softened with the use of
ferns or climbing plants.
Green Design Group was founded as a
innovative design practice and has
developed a broad range of expertise
on projects large and small since its
original inception in 1978.
The practice is split over two sites with
offices in both Cockermouth and
Brampton providing coverage
throughout Northern England and
Southern Scotland.