The Magnus House

The Magnus House is our new purpose–built facility for environmental education at Aigas. It is designed to inspire and educate minds of all ages in nature and the environment.

Named after Magnus Magnusson, a close friend of Sir John Lister-Kaye, the building is designed to be eco-friendly as well as child–friendly. The main structure is built using locally-sourced sustainable timber, of larch cladding for the outer walls and pine inside. The stone for the low outside walls was sourced from our local quarry and Caithness slab-stones make up the path work and window ledges. Recycled plastic insulation in the walls retains heat while the green turf roof also provides excellent insulation as well as a habitat for wildlife. The building is heated by air-source heating which runs through the building via under-floor pipes and operates the opposite way to a refrigerator! The solar panel in the roof heats the water. This eco-friendly design adds to our eco-centre status and aims. 

Inside, the main part of the building is the large classroom which has large south facing windows and doors which let lots of sunshine in. The vibrant green carpet of indoor astro-turf is perfect for children to play safely. Benches down one side hold microscopes and magnifying glasses for children to investigate the smaller side of nature and we have a collection of all sorts of natural objects, including feathers, skulls and antlers.

The Magnus House is situated close to the loch and woodland so young people can easily access these exciting resources.  The building is fully equipped with lots of toilets, a baby-changing facility and a kitchen. The classroom is specifically designed with disabilities and special educational needs in mind, with disabled toilets and wide doorways.

We are now able to put up all the brilliant drawings and essays that we receive after visits, so that everyone can admire the works of our Aigas visitors!

As well as keeping Aigas as environmentally-friendly as possible, the classroom lets us show all our visitors the different technologies and means to make all of our lives and homes greener.

Have a look at our links page for more information on the various renewable technologies we are implementing.