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Beatrix Potter’s School of Botany

Part 1 Project 2024
Megan Smith
Lancaster University | UK
The School of Botany evolved from natural illustrations drawn by Beatrix Potter during her time in Windermere. Windermere’s lack of medical units created this exploration of how the surrounding environment could create traditional medicine routes. The building was first developed by understanding how mushrooms turn into medicine and how this could be communicated through the means and sequence of the building. The form was then further developed based on walking through woodlands where light funnels create moments of compression and release, with hyphenated spaces to allow for moments of reflection and close communications between people. The building was designed for disassembly, with modular components which work upon a rhythm so that in the event of natural disasters the building can take a new form, or elements can be disassembled and recycled to help combat the climate emergency. The individually created SIP panels comprised of sheep wool use the local amenities. The roof varies from the local material usage by copper being used on the exterior, copper is a durable and elegant material which patinates over time, this produces the idea of growth like the ever-changing landscape of Windermere.

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2024
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