RHS Hilltop, The Home of Gardening Science – Practical Completion and Opening Day
Earlier today the RHS announced the opening date for RHS Hilltop, The Home of Gardening Science (24 June 2021) following Practical Completion that took place at the end 2020.
The handover of the building is a result of fantastic collaboration between the RHS and our consultants and contractors: Osborne, Synergy Construction and Property Consultants LLP, and WilkinsonEyre Architects.
Hilltop has an internal building area of 4,750m² plus a roof terrace of 300m². This striking space will combine gardening science with a fantastic visitor experience, allowing all ages to engage with the horticultural world through interactive displays, talks, and a ‘global knowledge bank’, including drawers of specimens and a window into the herbarium.
With so many people turning to gardening to get through what has been such a difficult year for everyone, and so many new gardeners getting involved, there has never been a more important time to focus on gardening, for our own wellbeing and that of the planet.
Particularly in light of the added difficulties of Covid-19, we are very proud of all of the teams who worked together to get Hilltop ready safely and are grateful to all our partners who adapted so well to the challenges.
Andy Jasper, Programme Director of the Wisley Strategic Investment Programme, said: We are so proud to announce the opening date of RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science. Working so closely and collaboratively with Contractors and Consultants was wonderful and together we have overcome the challenges of Covid-19. We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all the teams and individuals involved in this project who have worked so hard and with such passion and commitment.
Osborne’s Construction Director, Richard Watts commented: “We are delighted to have achieved Practical Completion in late 2020 at RHS Hilltop, The Home of Gardening Science. We are proud to have met this significant milestone – and for achieving this in a truly collaborative partnership with our Client, Consultants and Supply Chain partners. As a team we successfully faced the challenges of Covid-19, adapting our ways of working to provide a safe environment for everyone. We are very proud of turning the vision of others into reality and playing our part in creating this fantastic facility for the community.”
Stephen Jopson from Synergy said: “We are honoured to be part of the team on this inspirational project which has been a true team collaboration. RHS Hilltop, The Home of Gardening Science, provides outstanding facilities which will benefit horticultural enthusiasts and wider communities alike by helping safeguard the future of plants, people and the planet.”
Geoff Turner, Associate Director at WilkinsonEyre, added: “We would like to thank and congratulate the whole project team, who have worked hard to reach practical completion during such challenging circumstances. It’s great to see the vision for the building materialise, especially how the complex series of spaces work with one another.
With external landscaping taking shape and planting ongoing, it is becoming clear how well the building and gardens will work together – an exciting ‘bigger picture’ moment for us! We now look forward to the RHS’ fit-out and completion of the landscape, the next phase of the project, and ultimately conveying the message of science and horticulture as visitors explore the new building and gardens.”
