PROJECT: Fountains Abbey Visitor Centre

LOCATION: Yorkshire

DATE: 1992

In 1987 the National Trust commissioned us to design a visitor centre at this UNESCO World Heritage Site, high up above the great Cistercian Abbey that attracts 380,000 visitors each year.

The site builds on the tradition of John Aislabie's fantastic eighteenth century gardens at Studley Royal. Arranged around a courtyard, the building frames a view towards the forbidden 16th century Abbey tower. Our new approach road places his obelisk in front of the wonderful Burgess Church that was built to hide it.

The open cloistered courtyard is sheltered by massive dry-stone walls and steep roof planes with recycled Yorkshire stone that link it into the landscape.