Painshill Park is an 18th century landscaped garden restored to its former glory. The new visitor facilities were required to provide information and ticketing, a shop and cafe, WCs and an education centre to meet the needs of a growing number of visitors. The building was supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Visitor centres can detract from the attraction they seek to promote, and there was always a danger that this building would be an intrusion rather than an insertion into the existing landscape. We felt the solution was to break down the bulk of the accommodation into a series of spaces; some underground, some cut through and some elevated above the ground.