We are delighted to receive a shortlisting for our Alpine House project for the Galvanizers Association GAGA 2016 Awards! This project was carried out together with David Narro Associates, Structural Engineers, for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and was completed in 2014. The judging panel consisted of Jan-Carlos Kucharek of the RIBA Journal, Matthew Wells of Techniker, Andrew Matthews of Proctor and Matthews Architects and Iqbal Johal of the Galvanizers Association, with the winners announced at the ceremony in June at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.
The Alpine House is the first new glasshouse to be built in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh for over thirty years and the only one in Britain dedicated to growing alpine plants in a tufa rockscape.
The key design drivers were to respond to the cold, windy yet bright, mountain environments required by these plants, while providing a distinctive structure that will act as a contemporary landmark in its own right within the stunning garden setting. The design includes a dramatic 8m cantilever formed in tapering steel beams creating a canopy over the main entrance to the glasshouse. Once the steel and glass structure was complete on site the planting was carried out by the garden’s own horticultural team.
This small but striking project provides the Garden with a dramatic 21st Century addition.
