Enstone Airfield, a disused airfield near Enston in Oxfordshire, is set to become Britain’s newest automotive park. Foster + Partners recently submitted designs for the new Mullin Automotive Park to the West Oxfordshire District Council for planning permission.
The park will display the history of automobiles over the last century while also acting as an open-ended collection that charts the changing face of mobility in the future. The park’s design draws from the idea of a rural estate. Visitors will be taken through a carefully designed landscape that funnels towards the main building at the heart of the site. A small cluster of workshop type buildings that include visitor facilities such as the ticket office and a cafe are located near the entrance of the site.
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The buildings will be arranged in a crescent with the park’s museum acting as the focal point of the entire development. This design allows for most of the site to remain as green parkland. The automotive park will also include roads where cars from the Mullin collection can be driven, providing visitors with an immersive experience. A series of residential pavilions and landscaped lodges will also be located on the site.
Gerard Evenden, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners, said of the new park, “The Mullin Automotive Park will be a unique cultural destination set in Cotswold countryside, that seeks to support the wider community as well as providing a special experience for classic automobile collectors.”
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