Whitney Sawmills
Woodland Heritage
The team in Whitney-on-Wye needed a new sawmill, drying room, and reception space for their customers, staff, and visitors.
Our design up-cycles the existing buildings, by using sustainable materials and finishes. 4 different types of British timber are specified to showcase the products from the sawmill, with each used in a traditional manner; Oak for columns and floors, Douglas Fir for windows and doors, Larch for cladding and Ash for shelving. The visitor center now acts as a great product catalog for the timbers available from the Sawmill.
Whitney-on-Wye, 1904.
The sawmill is located on the site of the historic Whitney Train Station.
“As ever, budgets were tight, but Orlando and Alex created specifications that aimed high, but which when finances dictated could be trimmed. The design was created so that if items needed to be built in house, they could be...and they were! ”
The log burning fire burns scrap wood from the sawmill which minimises wood waste on site and keeps carbon emissions incredibly low at
3.83kg CO2e m2.
An old drying shed has been redesigned, brought back to life & is now fit for purpose.
“It’s changed our lives!”
In restoring this site to be a functioning Sawmill, it has bought employment opportunities to the local area.
Old uses on a site give clues as to what it might become, here are similar projects where we have used historical research to inform new designs:
