This project involved a temporary visitor cafe, shop and exhibition centre built using modular construction techniques to support one of Scotland's major tourist attractions.
A series of linked pods and a lock keepers office clad in charred timber create a varied elevation along the a new canal basin formed as part of the Kelpies Lock project. The Kelpies are two large scale sculptures designed by artist Andy Scot within Helix Park opened in late 2014.
Working within a highly compressed programme of 8 months from inception to completion, a successful strategy was employed involving two separate contractors, allowing the superstructure was fabricated off-site whilst the groundworks were formed to allow this new centre to be opened alongside the park. Each element of the centre is designed to be demountable and re-usable in the future by Scottish Canals as part of their wider tourism programme. The 'pod' elements have an integral structure allowing these to be transported by lorry or barge to sites around Scotland to act as self contained camping pods with plug in bathroom facilities.
Michael Collins led the design and delivery of the project from inception to completion as senior associate and project architect at OCA.