Dualchas reveals St Kilda visitor centre scheme on the Isle of Lewis
Dualchas Architects, working with Oslo’s Reiulf Ramstad Architects (RRA), has unveiled plans for a ‘satellite’ visitor centre on the Isle of Lewis to serve the uninhabited St Kilda archipelago nearby.
The Skye-based studio and the Norwegian practice have drawn up a masterplan for the facility in Mangurstadh which will provide access to St Kilda’s history without travelling to the remote island.
Images of the innovative clifftop building – which will be RRA’s first UK scheme – were revealed at a special symposium focussing on the collaborative project in Stornoway last week.
Inhabited for at least two millennia, St Kilda was evacuated in 1930 and its ruined buildings and landscape are now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Backed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Ionad Hiort – St Klida Centre in Gaelic – is intended to provide a global exemplar for ‘remote access’ to similar locations.
The stone structure – featuring a courtyard and observation platforms – will be constructed on the west coast of Lewis with views to St Kilda more than 50 miles away on the horizon.
Funding is currently being sought for the project which aims to boost regeneration on the island, interpret St Kilda’s unique story and improve access to Hebridean culture and landscape.
Masterplans focussing on Ionad Hiort’s content, by Metaphor and business plan, by Steve Westbrook were also presented at the conference inside the An Lanntair arts centre.