Project: Botanical Centre
Location: East Manchester

The proposal was for a botanical research and education centre, accessible to the public, academics and companies. It serves to promote the role of natural resources. The main building serves as a focus point for activity and an entry point to the gardens, it consists of three glasshouses, with associated laboratories, a library, cafeteria and lecture theatre/auditorium. The plants themselves are grown in individual 'gardens' bounded by hedges, spread out across the site.

There is accommodation for thirty scientists working in three greenhouses and their associated laboratories, with a library, reading room, cafeteria and lecture theatre for presenting research to the public and the media.

The building is split into two main accommodation types - the greenhouse type and the shed type.

Greenhouses contain the plants being cultivated for research, these are glazed entirely in clear glass and are performance driven, allowing maximum sunlight to enter, by maximizing glazing and minimizing structure. The same structural system is used to house the library and cafeteria but in these cases the roof is glazed in a translucent material to diffuse the sunlight and prevent them from overheating.

Sheds contain the laboratories, kitchens and reading rooms.

Using an inversion of the traditional cloister plan form of educational buildings, the accommodation is arranged in a grid pattern whose size is dictated by the modular construction of the greenhouses. Circulation around the building is via a series of hub spaces located at the corners of the central courtyard.