Broadly speaking, visitor centres are simply gateways to the attractions they serve, housing a combination of interpretive facilities, cafes and souvenir shops. However, the next generation of this building type may well prove to be a different proposition altogether if plans for a remarkable new complex at Sherwood Forest are anything to go by.

Designed by Make Architects, the spectacular man-made oak tree / treehouse was the winner of a competition organised by the 'Living Legend' team charged by Nottinghamshire County Council with “transforming Sherwood Forest into a world-class sustainable destination and inspirational community resource within which current and future generations can live learn, play and prosper”.

 

The canopy-level viewing platforms and restaurant

In many ways the basic concept could not be more obvious and, in the wrong hands, could perhaps result in a too literal interpretation of the subject it is intended to deal with. But the design by Make Architects transcends this possibility: its sheer scale and complexity aim to push timber construction, using the material in its naturally occurring state, beyond normally accepted limits. The 20m-tall structure will be built using hyperboloid geometry that allows member dimensions to be restricted to a range of naturally occurring solid timber sizes. 

The project is sited on unwooded agricultural land across the road from the existing facilities that are to be removed by 2010 as they stand within a European Special Area of Conservation (SAC – one of only four in the UK) and a National Nature Reserve. The ancient woodland of Birklands near Edwinstowe is one of the most important old woodland sites in Europe and internationally significant for nature conservation.Since the construction of the existing centre in the early 1970s, the number of visitors to this part of Sherwood Forest has dramatically increased to around 800,000 per year, outgrowing the facilities and, over the years, heavily impacting on the ecological integrity of that part of the woodland.

 

The complex will house visitor facilities, an education and discovery area as well as conference accommodation

The new complex is not only a gateway to the forest, but is intended to be a destination in itself, housing visitor facilities, an education and discovery area, a sustainable technology centre, meeting and conference accommodation, as well as retail and refreshment outlets. In itself, this list would not set pulses racing nor distinguish the facility from the many other visitor centres around the country. The big leap here has been to embrace a design that is not only redolent of the forest but, in its scale and construction, destined to be a major attraction that genuinely merits the term 'iconic'.  

The commanding edifice is organically integrated into the site by a root-like structure at its base that extends in radial lines to accommodate education, conference and retail functions before reaching outwards to become paths and places intended to draw visitors towards the hub of the centre and the forest beyond. Having entered the complex, the visitor also has the choice of ascending some 20m within the 'trunk' to arrive at the canopy-level viewing platforms and restaurant that give spectacular views across the ancient forest.

As with so many competition-winning projects, the built reality depends on securing the necessary finance. The Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre is a candidate for the Big Lottery Fund's 'Living Landmark' £50m that will be awarded to a “project of national significance”. The UK public will have the opportunity to vote on this during a series of programmes that will be televised in the summer. Perhaps the forestry and timber industries need to mobilise their employees to participate to ensure that such an extraordinary showcase for their primary product can be realised.