Howe Park Study Centre

In the beautiful ancient woodland setting of Howe Park Wood in Milton Keynes, we have designed this environmental education and visitor centre for the Parks Trust. The centre contains classrooms, meeting rooms, an outside decked area and pond dipping platform. The building features a living stone wall, incorporating a number of boxes to be filled with items to form insect homes, or for planting. As well as offering a striking visual impact the wall offers an exciting way for people to learn about local wildlife. Local artist Annette Reed has created four stunning stained glass windows depicting the changing seasons in Howe Park Wood.

Bird and bat boxes are installed in the adjacent woodland and interpretation panels help people learn about the nearby wildlife. The brief for this project was to ensure that any building reflected the clients values and environmental work. Therefore, the centre is designed to become part of the surrounding environment rather than a statement in itself.