Previous posts

• Oak frame and building budget
• Infill panels and building warranty
• In Touch with Timber 2009
• Our New Facility
• The Building Recession (Part 2)

---

|

Subscribe to this feed

---

The Earth Centre at Doncaster was one of the Survivors

January 09, 2009  · Posted by Andy Parker

If you watched the BBC?s recent remake (well, more of a ?reimagining? than a remake to be honest) of the classic 1970?s drama Survivors, you may have been struck by some of the location shooting.

It?s clearly not easy to shoot a post-apocalyptic drama in a busy town ? the hundreds of people tend to give the game away ? although Manchester city centre, part of the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire and The Trafford Centre featured extensively.

Another location also featured ? probably more than any other ? and that was the Earth Centre at Doncaster. This location was used by ex-Government minister Samantha Willis to create a new community, with her as the leader.

The huge timber framed solar canopy

The reason I mention this is that part of the Earth Centre was constructed by Carpenter Oak & Woodland ? we were responsible for building the dramatic solar canopy, which featured in many of the outdoor shots. The canopy is huge ? over 1,300 square metres ? and it?s not just to keep the rain out. It was, at the time, Europe?s largest flat-foot photovoltaic installation, capable of generating 80,000 kilowatts of electricity per year.

And that?s one of the things that actually made the Earth Centre a smart choice for the survivors ? while the rest of humanity?s leftovers were scavenging in empty cities and towns, with no power infrastructure, any survivors at the Earth Centre could certainly enjoy life a little bit more, taking power from the sky.

The canopy under construction

Sadly, the Earth Centre was not a commercial success, and it closed in 2004, after only being open around 3 years. The Centre was used in 2007, to house refugees from the floods whose homes had been damaged, and we understand that the location has now been acquired for use as a skirmish site.

It?s something of a shame, as the Earth Centre was a real showcase for many technologies that we really need to be thinking far more seriously about ? such as sustainable energy. But, for us, it was still great to see it feature in what was one of the most successful dramas of 2008.

 

More blogs by Andy Parker

---