Ionad Hiort

Isle Of Lewis

Dualchas was selected to masterplan the new Ionad Hiort project in the Uig area of Lewis following a highly competitive tender bid process. Partnering with Norwegian practice Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, this internationally important project will involve the development of a visitor and resource centre on a dramatic clifftop site, which seeks to be not only an outstanding piece of architecture but also cuturally and economically important to the Western Isles.

Iain Buchanan, chairman of Ionad Hiort Ltd – the charitable company formed to take the project forward – said: “The vision presented by Dualchas and RRA was outstanding and we are confident that we have people of the highest quality developing every aspect of the project, in close consultation with local interests”.

Plans for Ionad Hiort had their origin in a competition sponsored by HIE, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, VisitScotland and the National Trust for Scotland, to identify the best location for a St Kilda Centre.

Following completion of the Dualchas/RRA Masterplan, the team was commissioned to design the visitor centre, exhibition, landscaping and infrastruture. The project has now received Planning Permission, involving an extensive Environmental Impact Assessment, and Ionad Hiort Ltd. is currently seeking funding to bring the centre to fruition.

St Kilda is a double World Heritage Site and, subsequently, UNESCO adopted the project as a “pilot” for how to develop remote access to the many World Heritage Sites which are not easily available to visitors.

Further information: https://www.ionadhiort.org