Estuary Tower Hide, Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Park

A magnificent new bird hide lifted two storeys into the air overlooking the Severn Estuary, which any bird watcher will tell you is the Serengeti for waterfowl!

The steel and glulam frame support an enclosed bird viewing tower and an open topped roof terrace, all accessible via a lift and stairs. A frameless glass balustrade provides uninterrupted views out over the estuary.

Giraffe Engineering provided a full design and detailing service for the building structure including reinforced concrete substructure, glulam and steel superstructure frame. Steel connections are all left fully exposed and were carefully detailed to give a clean, visual finish along with the timber cladding.

Architect: White Design
Client: Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust