Giants Causeway Ireland Photos, Moyle Building Images, Irish World Heritage Site Center

Giant’s Causeway Visitor Facilities, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Visitor Centre Building design by Heneghan Peng Architects

2 May 2016

Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre Photos

Design: Heneghan Peng Architects

New photographs taken this weekend of this uncompromising building on the north coast of Northern Ireland:

Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre

stepped wall:

Prices, not cheap!

photo © Isabelle Lomholt

Triple accolade for Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre design

10 Jun 2014 – The Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre in Northern Ireland has been awarded three different accolades at this year’s Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) awards for its sustainable design.

WYG, in conjunction with Heneghan Peng Architects, Gilbert-Ash Ltd and the National Trust, is celebrating achieving the Design Award for projects over £3million, the Liam McCormich Prize for Building of the Year and also the DoE Planning Award for their work on the centre.

Engineering specialists from the Belfast office of WYG, a multidisciplinary consultancy, were commissioned by the National Trust to provide expertise on the civil engineering design of the visitor centre, which attracts more than half a million tourists every year.

The centre’s new facilities, which include an exhibition space, café, kitchen, retail space and staff areas, have been designed to blend in to the natural rural environment via re-establishment of the ridge-line by use of a part buried structure.

The centre has already been awarded the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ‘Excellent’ Design Stage Certificate due to the cutting edge techniques employed in the design and supporting infrastructure.

From pre-Planning EIA drafting to site supervision, including road, boundary retention and drainage design and advice, incorporating sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDs), WYG worked between 2006-2012 on developing value for money solutions and sustainable development for the project.

WYG ensured that there was minimal impact on the adjoining conservation areas including listed features, as well as developing a stormwater interception system to protect the habitat of the Narrow-mouthed Whorl snail.

Paul Cooke, Associate Director at WYG Belfast, said: “We are thrilled that the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre has been awarded not one, but three industry awards for its sustainable building design.

“The design of the centre was focused on sustainability and energy efficiency but also ensuring it remained aesthetically pleasing and complimentary to the fabulous Antrim coastline. It was this focus, alongside a requirement to provide value for money, which made the entire project so exciting and thrilling to work on.”

Max Bryant, manager for the National Trust on the north coast said; “In 2013 we welcomed more than 750,000 visitors to the Giant’s Causeway World Heritage Site, and we are very proud of our world class visitor centre. The design and sustainability of the building was hugely important for us, and it is now paying off through a huge impact on the Northern Ireland tourism economy. Most importantly, our visitors are leaving with lasting memories of this very special place.”

Stirling Prize shortlisted – 18 Jul 2013

RIBA Awards 2013 : RIBA National Award Winner – 13 Jun 2013

4 Jul 2012

New Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre

Giant’s Causeway World Heritage Site, Northern Ireland

Design: Heneghan Peng Architects

The building has now been completed.

New photos – 19 Jun 2013:

photo © Hufton + Crow

The Giant’s Causeway lies on the Causeway Coast World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland in a landscape of cliffs formed by hexagonal basalt stones, agricultural landscapes and cliffside walks. Historically a tourist site, tourism continues to be an essential part of the local economy. The visitor centre helps to manage the beautiful and fragile landscape and is a resource to those who visit the site.

The design for the visitor centre was the subject on an international architectural completion in 2005. An international jury selected the winning design from 201 entries.

The site for the visitor centre at the Giant’s Causeway is located below the ridgeline on the landward side of the cliff. By utilising the large difference in level across the site, two folds are created in the landscape. One, extending the line of the ridge, accommodates the building. The second, extending the level of the road, accommodates the car park screening it from view.

photo : Marie-Louise Halpenny

The two folds create strong lines in the landscaping, drawing all the man-made interventions together and organising the disparate requirements of the visitor centre into a singular intervention in the landscape. There is no longer a building and landscape but building becomes landscape and the landscape itself remains spectacular and iconic.

The lines that create the folds are made from a series of stacked basalt columns quarried locally Kilrea, from the same lava flows which formed the Causeway (not from the Causeway area itself as the local rock strata is protected)

The visitor centre is the public gateway to the World Heritage Site and has a range of conservation designations. The aspirations for this project in every way are of the highest order as befits its location, excellence in architectural and landscape design, excellence in interpretative design, excellence in sustainable practices and construction.

The project’s design has received a BREEAM* “Excellent” rating. *BREEAM is the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings: www.BREEAM.org

photos : Marie-Louise Halpenny

Building Sustainability

10 Principles for Sustainability at the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre

1. Passive Design and Carbon Reduction
The building facades and roof exceed NI Building Regulations requirements by at least 50%. The Green Roof and concrete contribute significantly to the building’s performance.

2. A Fresh and Comfortable Internal Environment
Air at a comfortable temperature is introduced at a low level and extracted at a high level giving a comfortable and energy efficient internal environment.

3. Heated by the Earth | Cooled by the Earth
4.5km of pipework under the car park utilize geothermal energy for heating. Cool earth is used for cooling with 1km of earth pipes adjacent to the visitor centre.

4. Local and Sustainable Materials
The basalt is locally quarried in Kilrea, from the same lava flows which formed the Causeway (not from the Causeway area itself as the local rock strata is protected). Concrete with a high recycled content is used.

5. Water Conservation
The following water conservation and management features have been incorporated:
• Rainwater recovery and Grey water recovery from green roof used for toilet flushing
• Low water dual flush WCs & Waterless urinals
• Permeable paving, the green roof and rainwater harvesting reduce surface water run-off.

6. Site Ecology
The replacement visitor creates a green roof and grassed ramp to increase the available green space. The mix of grasses planted on the green roof and ramp was grown from seed collected from the surrounding fields to preserve the delicate ecology of the area. The National Trust have the knowledge and skill to maintain the native planting and encourage the biodiversity of the site.

7. Accessibility
The new Centre makes the site more accessible and the exhibition provides information on the diversity of the site. Access for all is enhanced by the regular shuttle bus that leads to the stones greatly opening up the beauty of the site to a wider group.

8. Economic Sustainability
Tourism is vitally important to the local economy within and around the Causeway Coast area. The new visitor centre has the potential to generate additional income for local businesses. The ‘Park and Ride’ system based in Bushmills reduces traffic congestion at the Causeway site and provides sustainable economic links with the town.

9. Waste Management
To reduce the waste generated by the replacement visitor centre, the National Trust have implemented a policy of recycling and composting for the site. As an organisation the National Trust strongly promotes the need to reduce waste.

10. Culture and Heritage
The Giant’s Causeway is of interest to a wide range of people due to its legends, history, geology and ecology. The visitor centre opens up the story of the site to the public providing educational resources on the site’s various aspects.

photos © Hufton + Crow

Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre – Building Information

Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland
Client: National Trust
Size: 1,800 sqm
Date: 2005 (Competition)

Structures: Arup
Building Services: Bennett Robertson
QS / PM: Edmond Shipway
Facade Engineering: Dewhurst MacFarlane
Planning: Turley Associates
Civils: White Young Green
Landscape: heneghan peng architects (Concept design) ; Mitchell + Associates (Implementation)
Exhibition Design: Event
Specialist Lighting: Bartenbach Lichtlabor

Accessibility: Buro Happold
Acoustics: FR Mark
BREEAM: SDS Energy
Fire |Traffic | Environmental: Arup
Specification: Davis Langdon

Architecture, Landscape Concept and Interiors: heneghan peng architects
Competition
Shih-Fu Peng, Róisín Heneghan (Project Directors)
Chris Hillyard, Aideen Lowery, Marcel Piethan
Project Design & Construction Stages
Shih-Fu Peng, Róisín Heneghan (Project Directors)
Julia Loughnane (Project Architect)
Monika Arcynska, Jorge Taravillo Canete, Chris Hillyard, Kathrin Klaus, Carmel Murray, Padhraic Moneley, Catherine Opdebeeck, Helena del Rio.

photos : Marie-Louise Halpenny

Giant’s Causeway Competition, Northern Ireland

Giant’s Causeway World Heritage Site

Design: Heneghan Peng Architects

Approval Jan 2009 – Northern Ireland Environment Minister rules no appeal referral for the planning application, so construction can now proceed:

Giant’s Causeway Visitor Facilities
Design: Heneghan Peng Architects

picture from architects
Giants Causeway Visitor Centre : background to the new facilities

Heneghan Peng

Giant’s Causeway Travel Address: 11 Lodge Road, Coleraine, Northern Ireland BT52 1LU

Giant’s Causeway – Contact: 44 (0)28 7032 7720

Location: Coleraine, NNorthern Ireland

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