The New Decoy building is a satellite dwelling that will rise next to the Great Fen Visitor Centre.

The proposed New Decoy Building is a single storey structure that will sit over the footprint of the existing “New Decoy Bungalow”.

The architectural approach to the new building echoes the aesthetics, morphology and materials adopted for the Great Fen Visitor Centre winning proposal, in tune with local materials and heritage.

The “New Decoy Building” features a Gross Internal Area of approximately 160 square meters, over one single level, set at +300mm from the external ground level. The building will serve two main functions: offices and a residential accommodation for staff members.

The building will be visible, but it will not predominate the landscape unnecessarily. For this reason we decided to keep the building on one level, with a maximum roof height of 5.5 meters from the ground level.

The proposed architectural language is profoundly influenced by the local barns and agricultural buildings found in the area, which we have carefully studied and taken into consideration regarding their volumes, geometries and materials.

This visual similarity is evident not only in the overall three-dimensional appearance and pitched roofline’s behaviour, but in the dark wood continuous cladding, which resembles the traditional black, tar-coated timber skin typical of so many Cambridgeshire barns. In this vision, we want the building to reflect its local heritage whilst promoting a contemporary and unique sculptural appearance, and in so doing, bring the past into the present.

Client: The Great Fen Partnership

Status: Planning Application pending

Budget: £0.5 million