The Millennium Centre

The Millennium Centre

This landmark project sits within Eastbrookend Country Park, 140 hectares of reclaimed land, and embodies the best and most rigorous thinking on sustainable development at the time.

  • The Millennium Centre 1
  • The Millennium Centre 2
  • The Millennium Centre 3

The visitors centre explains the ecology, history, flora and fauna of the area, and in addition to display areas, provides park rangers’ facilities and an education space. The south facade opens up completely to allow direct access out into the park.

  • The Millennium Centre 1
  • The Millennium Centre 2
  • The Millennium Centre 3

The project generates some of its power needs by a wind turbine, and has provision for photovoltaic cells, illustrating buildings as net producers rather than consumers of energy.

  • The Millennium Centre 1
  • The Millennium Centre 2

The specification included timber from sustainable sources, reclaimed steel and aluminium, itself highly recyclable. It uses waste newsprint for insulation and is naturally ventilated. Even the foundations are innovative, using reusable steel screw anchors driven through the landfill into the gravel below with minimal disturbance. To minimise the building’s energy consumption and provide protection against vandalism, metal shutters cover the windows at night and then open up during the day to allow views out and provide shade.

A post occupancy evaluation of the centre found that it is performing very well across all the categories of the audit. Actual CO2 emissions are 34 kg CO2/m²/yr.

  • The Millennium Centre 1
  • The Millennium Centre 1

Awards

  • Green Apple Award - New Studios, Wimbledon College of Arts: Winner
  • Civic Trust Award - The Arches Centre: Commendation
  • RIBA Award - Minster School: Winner
  • Aluminium Imagination Architectural Award - Great Notley Discovery Centre: Commendation
  • AIA/UK Awards, ‘Excellence in Design’ - The Millennium Centre, Eastbrookend Country Park: Winner
  • Design Sense Award - The Millennium Centre, Eastbrookend Country Park: Finalist
Client
  • London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Status
Complete
Size m2
5,002
Completion Date
1997
Structural Engineer
  • Buro Happold LLP
M&E Engineer
  • Max Fordham LLP