Knockan Crag

PROJECT: Knockan Crag

LOCATION: Knockan, Wester Ross, Highlands

CLIENT: Scottish Natural Heritage

STATUS: Completed on site 2001

DESCRIPTION: Remote visitor centre for National Nature Reserve in the northwest Highlands

Another collaboration with interpretative designer John Finlay, this project, some 4 hours from Edinburgh by car, consisted of a toilet block & a roof! Designed for Scottish Natural Heritage on a site of both immense geological significance and great natural beauty, the buildings had to be designed incredibly sensitively to fit comfortably into the natural environment.

The turf roofed over the exhibition space keeps the worst of the elements off the interpretative exhibits and sits in its own scree slope on a steep hillside on the interpretative trail. Incredible care was taken by the whole design team to respect, care for and, where necessary, repair the immediate environment of the project. The use of only local, hand-picked local materials and plant species was adhered-to throughout. The end products are two sensitive buildings sited beautifully in the environment.