Kielder Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Kielder Forest , Northumberland , England . The site is on Black Fell, overlooking Kielder Water near the Scottish border . It is accessible from James Turrell's Kielder Skyspace via a half-mile long forest track.
8-567: The observatory's design is the result of a competition managed by RIBA Competitions which was won by London -based Charles Barclay Architects. The building is powered by solar panels and a wind turbine. It won the RIBA Award for its architecture in 2009 and also that same year a Civic Trust Award . The observatory is administered by the Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society, which is a registered charity consisting of
16-619: A board of Trustees and ten permanent members of staff responsible for educational delivery. Kielder Forest was a popular place for stargazing before the construction of the observatory, with the Kielder Forest Star Camp being an annual event. Amateur astronomer Gary Fildes —who had been involved with the Star Camp—began advocating for an observatory to be built within the forest and led a campaign that raised several hundred thousand pounds to pay for construction. Kielder Observatory
24-428: A new building or refurbish an existing building. They can be used for buildings, engineering work, structures, landscape design projects or public realm artworks. A competition typically asks for architects and/or designers to submit a design proposal in response to a given brief. The winning design will then be selected by an independent jury panel of design professionals and client representatives. The independence of
32-487: The RIBA appointed a special committee to draw up the first set of model rules and regulations for competitions. A Competitions Committee was set up in 1883 to monitor competitions and a revised version of the rules and regulations was published at this time. In 1967 the RIBA set up a Competitions Working Group who decided not just to monitor competitions but actively promote them and persuade clients to use them. From 1971 onwards
40-492: The jury is vital to the fair conduct of a competition. The objective of a competition is to explore a range of different design options to select the best response to the design brief, which would not be possible by pre-selecting one architect. The competitions process is often used to generate new ideas, create blue-sky thinking, stimulate debate, raise the profile of the project and allow an opportunity for emerging talent to grow as well as established design practices. In 1871
48-721: The otherwise named 16 inch Observatory, was renamed to the Caroline Herschel Observatory in memorandum of her contributions to science and astronomy. A plaque was unveiled by local author LJ Ross . The science communication team at the observatory consists of practical and observational astronomers and astrophysicists. RIBA Competitions RIBA Competitions is the Royal Institute of British Architects ' unit dedicated to organising architectural and other design-related competitions. Architectural design competitions are used by an organisation that plans to build
56-552: The region via a project co-funded by various local authorities. In 2019, Kielder Observatory was awarded funding and contract for delivery in the North of Tyne Combined Authority district. In 2021, the observatory constructed a 5 m (16 ft) Radio2Space Radio Antenna, donated by the Tanlaw Foundation. This project is intended to educate the general public on Radio Astronomy and assist teaching programmes in schools. In 2023,
64-615: Was officially opened on 25 April, 2008 by Sir Arnold Wolfendale , the 14th Astronomer Royal , and in its first year entertained approximately 1200 guests. In 2014, the observatory had nearly 20,000 visitors, thus making it one of the top tourist destinations in Northumberland. In 2018, Kielder Observatory expanded to accommodate construction of the Gillian Dickinson Astroimaging Academy. The observatory also runs educational outreach activities in schools throughout
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