As part of the decommissioning of Dounreay Nuclear Power Station, it is proposed to establish a national nuclear archive facility on a site adjacent to Wick Airport. The building comprises a dramatic triangular shape, set within an open urban fringe landscape of large, flat pastoral fields with views eastwards towards the sea.
The landscape design approach reflects the geometry, orientation and form of the building. Utilising excess excavated material from the building, road and swale construction, a series of bold, geometrically shaped earthwork forms, comprising triangular planes and pyramidal forms, reflect the strong geometric form of the archive, whilst also providing some degree of shelter to the site, specifically from north-easterly winds. Various uses of Caithness slate stone tie the proposal to its local context. Bands of different wildflower mixes follow the alignment of the building, providing seasonal colour variations to the sward appearance and contributing to improving biodiversity.