Countryside and Environment Resource Centre

As part of ongoing campus developments at Harper Adams, autumn 2009 saw the completion of the Countryside and Environment Resource Centre, a distinctive new multi-purpose timber-framed building designed to provide essential resources for the Countryside and Environment courses and to reflect the principles and practice of sustainable construction.

The building uses a blend of traditional and contemporary timber products to construct a simple functional building housing all the outdoor/adventure equipment and to provide storage for field survey equipment and the Conservation Society's tools. It also provides a bespoke tutorial room for small-group and specialist teaching.

All the timber used complies with Forest Stewardship Council requirements for sustainable sourcing and the green (unseasoned) larch and douglas fir used to clad the building all comes from the nearby Uppington Estate woodlands on the side of The Wrekin, one of Shropshire's key landmarks.

Lime-rendered straw bale construction has been used to provide excellent insulation for the tutorial room and the building is aligned to ensure optimum solar gain. The roof structure has been designed and built to carry a green, living layer of plants to provide insulation and biodiversity value as part of a joint initiative with the Harper Adams Crops Department who are researching the technical properties of different green roof substrates.

The area around the building will be developed and managed to improve its biodiversity and landscape value, providing even more first-hand opportunities for environmental teaching and learning on the 'green' Harper Adams campus.