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Please note: all photos courtesy/copyright of The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority

West of Scotland Chapter: Study Visit to Carrochan, The Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority Headquarters

John Walls reports …

At the end of August, Gordon Watson, Executive Director Planning & Rural Development and Carron Tobin, recent former Executive Director, Strategy & Partnerships, extended the hospitality of The Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, offering a visit to their new multi-award winning HQ Building at Balloch.

Gordon Watson opened by setting the scene. He stressed the importance of having an exemplar building based on sustainable principles to properly establish the presence of the new Parks Authority – all within normal Government cost limits, of course. Carron Tobin then took over explain how the building developed from a glimmer in the corporate imagination to a concept taking form and then materialising on site on time and within budget – a challenge for an innovative building.

Design principles
The building was developed through a bottom-up approach and based on the guiding principles of the National Park. A key factor was accessibility to the area’s communities and this resulted in the building being located in Balloch, the principal gateway to the Lomond area. A 'space model' was used to generate the accommodation requirements. It incorporated zoning principles taking account of public and private space needs and thought of in terms of ‘neighbourhoods’. One valuable principle, adopted under risk management, was the avoidance of 'surprises': that is, the project management team aimed to avoid upsetting the decision-makers and consultees.

Page and Park Architects won the commission to build the HQ in a highly competitive field. Interestingly, the final building design differed little from the original conceptual drawing. It is a twin roof timber framed structure reminiscent of a barn in shape with large walls of glass and stone. The building has a pleasing curve hugging the lines of the adjoining roundabout. The cleverness is in having standard sized modular timber frames but skewed to provide a sinuous curve. This requires carefully located drill holes in the frames holding the building together.

A sustainable approach
A very simple palate of materials was used: slate roof, stone walls and slate flooring sourced from the same quarry in the Lakes District. This made them both cost effective and green. Scottish Douglas Fir and Larch were used for the frame and cladding respectively. Sheep's fleeces were used to provide insulation … donated by 2,500 sheep, really? The building achieves an 'Excellent' rating when assessed with the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Matrix (BREEAM). This means that the building's carbon footprint is about 40% of a conventional building. In addition to the many passive sustainability features, the building also has many intelligent control measures for lighting, ventilation and heating not to mention SUDS drainage and a biomass boiler.

And good for communication ...
“So what … ”, I hear you all say, “… is it like to work in?” Certainly it is a lot better than the portakabins the staff started off in. With an attractive open plan layout, naturally lit with pleasant outlooks from the windows, there is an excellent working environment. It has been noticed staff talk more and the use of emails has declined: moreover, the collaboration between all staff, including the park rangers, has improved. There are regular 902 meetings to break down silo tendencies, i.e. 9.02 am staff meetings for those who struggle with 9.00 am. There is a screen in the foyer with all the meetings of the day so that everyone is aware of what's going on. This increases informal contact with partners and stakeholders, for example where a member of staff can see an opportunity to chat with a counterpart if they are in the building. Gordon Watson indicated that all these features have led to an improved overall management style for the Park Authority.

The Parks Authority is not the sole user of the building as SEPA also have a team of 13 based there – so improving partnership-working. The HQ building is also used by the local community council and as a venue for many events such as the Women in Property and the Modernising Planning Summit last year. Indeed, the NPA are happy to accommodate meetings and events in the building if its purpose is compatible with the objectives of the National Park. These external users and events assure an increased and respected profile for the Authority.

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Author:

Melville Street

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

03-Nov-09

Categories:

Nations & Regions 

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