Ionad Hiort Visitor Centre

Mangersta, Isle of Lewis

How can the story of a departed island community help sustain a living one?

Ionad Hiort | St Kilda Centre is a community-led visitor and cultural centre proposed for Mangersta in Uig, Lewis. The site was selected for its historic and cultural connections to St Kilda, with a direct line of sight from the clifftop to the islands.

The centre will interpret the UK’s only dual UNESCO World Heritage Site while supporting Gaelic culture, education, employment and the future of Uig.

Architecture of presence and absence
Selected through competitive tender, Dualchas has worked with the community over several years, collaborating with Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter on the masterplan, visitor centre, exhibition, landscape and infrastructure.

The building is embedded in the terrain. Its broken-down mass provides shelter from Atlantic weather and reduces its apparent scale, while stone connects it to the landscape and the historic structures of St Kilda.

Planning and community
The design and environmental assessment were developed together, responding to the exposed coastal setting, local ecology, access and infrastructure. The consented project is intended as both a gateway to St Kilda and a long-term investment in the cultural and economic life of the Outer Hebrides.

What the chairman says
“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.”

Iain Buchanan
Chairman, Ionad Hiort Ltd