Durley Chine Environmental Hub

by Footprint Architects Ltd

Client BCP Council

Awards RIBA South West and Wessex Award 2024, RIBA South West and Wessex Sustainability Award 2024 (Sponsored by Autodesk), RIBA South West and Wessex Client of the Year 2024 and RIBA South West and Wessex Building of the Year 2024 (Sponsored by EH Smith).

Commissioned and built by the local council, this stunning new building on Bournemouth beach puts its money where its mouth is on every front. Its purpose is to affect a step change in behaviour by making the public more aware of what they are throwing away, and to build a sense of environmental guardianship of the coastline. At its core is a two-storey, highly insulated, Passivhaus certified education centre and welfare block for the beach cleaning team. An array of solar panels on the roof more than offsets energy consumed, making the Hub carbon positive. On one side is a service yard, and on the other a green roof shelters an outdoor education, exhibition and café terrace. The architects ensured that reuse and recycling were central to the project, and any new materials were rigorously examined to select those with the lowest embodied carbon.

Read the full citation from the RIBA Awards Jury on RIBA Journal.

Contractors BCP - Construction Works Team

Sustainability WARM

Acoustic Engineer Impact Acoustics Ltd

Structural Engineer WSP

Environmental / M&E Engineer WSP

Quantity Surveyor Peter Gunning and Partners LLP

Gross internal area in m² 196