Bath, U.K.-based Hewitt Studios has given a stunning makeover to Morgan Motor Company’s aging café, museum and showroom with the new Experience Centre, a prefabricated visitor center made from sustainably sourced timber. Designed with reusability in mind, the building takes cues from the British motor car manufacturer’s hand-built sports cars that are constructed from three recyclable core elements: ash timber, aluminum and leather. The sustainably minded building also reduces its carbon footprint with high-performance insulation, daylighting and a responsible stormwater management strategy.
With more than a century of experience working with local craftsmen to construct its handmade cars, the Morgan Motor Company has built its reputation on ethical sourcing, natural materials and a focus on longevity. As a result, Hewitt Studios wanted the new Experience Centre to reflect the company’s sustainable values and used three prefabricated structures built of timber in a nod to the company’s historic ash body frames. These structures include the Jewel Box, a display space for the company’s hero car and customer handovers; a sculptural visitor entrance foyer; and an external covered car canopy that is large enough to shelter the demo car fleet. The car canopy features an undulating profile evocative of the Malvern Hills’ rolling topography.
The architects also put new cladding and roofing atop the existing buildings and built out the internal spaces. Timber and easily recyclable aluminum flashings were used for the cladding and are detailed for easy dismantling and recycling. Metsawood Kerto laminated veneer lumber, an inexpensive off-the-shelf industrial product made with certified timber from sustainably managed forests, was also incorporated into all of the new structures, particularly in the sculptural canopies.
The architects explained, “This strategy of using a single conventional product in a number of unconventional ways delivers terrific value for Morgan, creating the impression of an expensive bespoke outcome using readily available ‘stock’ timber sections — maximum bang for their buck!”
Images via Morgan Motor Company
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