LEISURE PROJECT
The Crichton Centre for Memory and Well-being
As part of an accomplished team, Ekkist were proud to win this international design competition for The Crichton Trust’s new Centre for Memory and Well-being.
The entry sought to reshape an existing, outdated former laundry building into a new space for reflection, research and wellbeing, which includes archives, a library, a learning centre, and exhibition spaces. Sited within a conservation area and close to Grade A and B listed buildings, the brief required a sensitive design that respected its context, was carbon neutral, and took a visionary approach to occupant health and well-being.
With the site having a rich history of using gardens for their therapeutic benefits, and set against the backdrop of the Galloway Hills, nature played a key part in the design of the project from the earliest stages, with the team setting a fundamental goal of creating a building ‘in and of its landscape’.
As such, the roof forms of the building reflect both the rolling terrain and the nearby buildings, the design seeks strongly to blur the boundaries between inside and out, and even the materials themselves are ‘of the landscape’, with rammed earth made from locally sourced soils and limestone pigments being selected as the primary building medium.
Given the brief and major themes, as much care and attention was put into the design of the external spaces as those inside the building. These included a kitchen garden, planted meadow and a sensory garden, with the hub of the scheme being a central courtyard for relaxation and reflection.
Ekkist are excited to commence the next stage of this competition, turning these concepts and early designs into a building and gardens that truly support health of both people and planet at every level.
All images courtesy of O'Donnell Brown Architects