WilkinsonEyre's RHS hilltop inspires horticulturists toward a greener UK

WilkinsonEyre has completed ITS RHS hilltop, the UK’s first dedicated gardening science hub for the royal horticultural society. sited at surrey’s RHS garden wisley, the ground-breaking new center for horticultural science and learning showcases the RHS’s previously unseen scientific work. the center further provides specialist facilities for ongoing research to help inspire the next generation of horticulturists and create a greener future for the UK.

image © royal horticultural society

the WilkinsonEyre-designed RHS hilltop will mark a new home of gardening science as part of a wider five-year transformation of the vast site at RHS garden wisley. located on a hilltop site, the unique facility measures 4,750 square meters (51,128 square feet) and provides state-of-the-art scientific laboratories, extensive public exhibition space, teaching studios, an events hall, and new facilities for the RHS’s nationally significant herbarium, science and library collections. all these programs are surrounded by four acres of science gardens, or ‘living laboratories.’

image © ben bisek

already one of the UK’s most visited gardens, WilkinsonEyre’s new RHS hilltop takes the visitor experience to the next level. seventy royal horticultural society scientists and students are now based at the ‘trailblazing’ lab facilities, while visitors and school children can watch live experiments as they happen and speak directly to scientists about their work. vast collections of dried plants, insects, books and art that date back more than five centuries and provide the most complete record of the UK’s horticultural heritage are also being displayed at the center for the first time.

image © ben bisek

WilksinsonEyre designs its RHS hilltop as the major hub for the newly landscaped wisley gardens. the project is master-planned by christopher bradley-hole, and designed in detail by matt keightley and ann-marie powell. RHS hilltop is conceived to integrate with three surrounding science gardens, comprising a health and wellbeing garden outside the main entrance, a west-facing world kitchen garden, and an east-facing wildlife garden. it was designed to enable the sharing of best practice demonstrated within each one, and for learning to take place seamlessly across indoor and outdoor spaces.

image © ben bisek

mature trees already on site frame the RHS hilltop which WilkinsonEyre sensitively sites to respect the rich horticultural context and legacy. a pair of two-story distinct concrete and steel-framed wings splay into the different gardens, maximizing visual connections between indoor and outdoor activity. the east wing is dedicated to the laboratories and library collections, while the west wing accommodates more public facing facilities including education activities. the internal and external materials palette balances the warmth of natural materials with the simplicity of exposed concrete and steel structural elements.

image © ben bisek