News
17 March 2008
Pick Everard brings Culloden to Life
Engineers at Inverness practice Pick Everard have played their part in fulfilling one of the most important projects in the Highland Year of Culture - the construction of a brand new, sustainable £5million visitor centre at the site of the Battle of Culloden. Opening officially on April 16th 2008 - 262 years on, the centre has been created to tell the story of the battle and its consequences for Highland culture in the 18th century.
It was at Culloden that the Jacobite army fought to reclaim Britain’s throne from the Hanoverians for a Stuart king. The British army was equally determined to stop this happening. The ferocious European war had come to Scotland - dividing families and setting clan against clan.
The National Trust for Scotland discovered that the previous centre was sited on the third Government line on the battlefield so, with the intention of returning the battlefield to its 1746 state, the location of the centre was changed. A complex and functional building, it uses natural light, natural ventilation, locally sourced wood and Caithness stone. With its green roof, biomass heating (using wood chips, a by-product of the local forestry industry), this is a light and airy, unobtrusive and sustainable building with a minimal carbon footprint.
More than 200,000 visitors a year will use the centre, cleverly designed to blend in well with the surroundings until visitors get close. The car park has been constructed so it is only just visible.
“We are delighted to have been involved in such a prestigious project, especially one that will be a lasting legacy of the Highland Year of Culture”, said Neil MacRae, Associate at Pick Everard.
