Barchams Arboretrum.

Barcham’s grow and supply trees on a large site outside Ely in the fens of East Anglia. They hold two royal warrants. As a family run business they had plans to create an attraction based around an arboretum on a major part of this site. Our task was to add interest to the landscape and create a destination building to integrate within it a restaurant, cafe and retail area with all the necessary servicing, access and parking. The overall site would become a visitor’s hub, which could run workshops for schools and conferences, or just be somewhere to visit and learn about trees and plants. The water table helped in that we were able to create a lake, and then use the excavated material to mould the landscape into a sinuous flowing environment. The restaurant addresses this body of water with a bridge onto a small island. The form evolved through a series of design workshops with our clients and our proposals achieved planning consent. The project awaits implementation.