Gateway Building - Wadebridge

In 2008, CSA Architects was among a number of architects invited to submit concept design ideas to the Camel Trail Partnership (CTP), for new public conveniences and a gateway entrance to the Camel Trail in Wadebridge. Comprised of various local councils and other bodies, the CTP sought a high quality, innovative piece of social public architecture, drawing from the strengths of the natural and built environment of the trail corridor.

CSA Architects won the design competition and was appointed to develop a working scheme.

The challenges of the project included a drainage ditch immediately below the site, which needed to remain free-flowing, and the need for a low-maintenance structure.  Creating a block with a maintenance corridor through the centre, air gaps for ventilation and sun-tubes in the roof to supplement lighting, filled these requirements, allowing for low-cost upkeep.

The new toilet block is enclosed with gabion baskets filled with local materials representative of the Camel Trail and its historic connections with the mining industry, creating an interactive and educational experience. These include different coloured locally quarried slates, rusty machinery parts, oyster and scallop shells, and glass bottles and timber from the vineyard and forest on the trail, amongst others. In an innovative ‘Coastal Seeds Project’, local schoolchildren collected seeds to create a green roof.

The new entrance gateway for the Camel Trail is not just a new toilet facility for Wadebridge, it creates a new focal point for the local community and visitors alike. The open point in front of the building has benches which invite cyclists and walkers to rest and socialise, promoting the use of the trail, and enhancing the gateway to the town.