This complex and challenging building constructed in an area of outstanding natural beauty features a variety of meeting spaces on two floors, an organic kitchen, dining room, farm offices and an eco-friendly shop. The main structure echoes the cruck frame of a long barn; its nine-metre high Douglas fir arches are a spectacular feature of the main auditorium, as is the rammed earth wall running the length of the building.

Beard succeeded in matching the Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre's approach to sustainability by creating a truly “green” building using recycled and local materials.  The specification of materials was informed by a study of the ‘embodied’ energy used in their manufacture, therefore no PVC was used in the construction, electrical wiring, pipe work and flat roof membranes. The cubicles and sinks in the visitors’ cloakrooms are made largely from recycled plastic and waterless urinals and aerating taps reduce water consumption.

Challenges & Solutions

Before crane-lifting the timber arches into position, the Beard team had to design and build a complex scaffold structure that would be strong enough to hold them while they were bolted together.

Beard overcame a number of technical challenges such as learning how to build a rammed earth wall and reclaiming chalk from the excavations to build the wall.  The chalk mixture for the 450mm-thick rammed earth wall had to be prepared manually because it clogged both conventional and paddle cement mixers. The mixture was developed in test batches and applied in 150mm-thick layers.