B|D Landscape Architects | Landscape Architecture | Urban Design | Space-Making

Living Wetland Theatre

This exciting project, provides an open-air venue with amphitheatre seating for live and interactive presentations or talks and bird flight demonstrations on stage. The new aviary adjacent, saw the creation of a new lagoon fed from a new stream connected to the wider wetland, providing a rich natural habitat for a variety of wetland bird species and comprises trees, wildflower, reed and aquatic planting to provide opportunities for natural places to perch and shelter.

Reclaimed groynes have been installed to create a backdrop to the stage and house the large screen and their use is repeated throughout the aviary as part of the interpretation signage strategy.

Hard landscape materials were selected to sympathetically provide even and stable routes as part of the accessibility strategy to allow movement through the sloping landscape with a path winding its way from the entrance to the event space and on through the aviary with bridges located to provide routes across the stream, enhancing visitor experience.

B|D worked with Kay Elliott architects, Hoare Lea and David Dexter Engineers alongside the WWT Slimbridge on detailing the project from concept to site.

Client: Wetland Wildlife Trust
Architects: Kay Elliott
Landscape Budget: £1m