George Wood Anderson Observation Shelter

An Observation Shelter designed by the Bell Ingram Design Team for The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) was officially opened on 1st June 2011. It is located within the RSPB’s Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. The shelter was erected in memory of George Wood Anderson and his wife who both used to walk on the paths within the Nature Reserve. They wanted to offer the RSPB a place for fellow walkers and bird enthusiasts to take refuge from the elements.

It is located within the RSPB’s Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. The shelter was erected in memory of George Wood Anderson and his wife who both used to walk on the paths within the Nature Reserve. They wanted to offer the RSPB a place for fellow walkers and bird enthusiasts to take refuge from the elements.

It was designed to the highest quality using natural stone for the walls and a native seeded grass roof.  A large panoramic window offers stunning views towards Dunnottar Castle and The North Sea. It also offers a strategic vantage point for visitors to the Nature Reserve to view the many birds which colonise the adjacent cliffs.

The Design Team have been commissioned in the past to design other viewing shelters but this project proved to be particularly challenging for the Team and the services of our dedicated Planning Consultant, John MacCallum, were called upon to manage the planning application process.

The site for the shelter is adjacent to cliffs which are a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). By contacting Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) before submitting the application, the Team were able to commit to the scheme knowing that SNH were satisfied with the proposed location and with it being submerged into the landscape to make sure the birdlife would not be affected by its use. One stipulation was, however, that the construction work had to be finished before the bird breeding season started.

The design of the shelter, particularly its grass roof, was also influenced by the need to “hide” the shelter into the landscape to reduce its visual impact. Being located adjacent to the cliff top, it was important to make sure it would not interrupt views out of the Nature Reserve for the walkers using the paths and for it not to be visible from the adjacent public roads.

Our Team’s approach, which used its comprehensive architecture and planning services, ensured that the challenges of the project were met head-on early in the planning process and helped to achieve a successful outcome. It also helped to ensure that the construction programme could be kept on track and the project was delivered on time.