Butser Ancient Farm set in the Hampshire countryside is an archaeological research site. It covers the prehistoric periods from the Stone Age to late Roman.

The Janus visitor centre was designed to be a modern building that would blend with the surrounding ancient structures, all of which have been created from traditional materials found locally. The vision for the building was that it should be truly sustainable, not just in use but in the materials used to build it.

JB Cedar Shingles were chosen as a sustainable natural material for the roof of the visitor centre at this working farm, that is used as an open air laboratory to explore the ancient world.

Two leading Canadian research organisations have identified that in spite of over 16000 km of transport, cedar shingles still represent a net carbon sink upon delivery. More carbon is stored than is emitted during harvest, manufacture and transport. JB Cedar Shingles all come from sustainably managed and accredited forests (PEFC) with some of the world’s toughest regulations.

Maureen Page from Butser Ancient Farm comments “We really wanted the building to mirror its local environment, whilst providing excellent modern facilities.

We wanted to demonstrate that the natural building resources that have been in use for thousands of years are still good to use. The new Janus Visitor Centre is named after the Roman god of gateways, who is depicted with two faces – one facing the future, the other the past. It is our way of showing that we believe we can all learn from the past. Janus is the building through which visitors are transported from the 21st century into Iron Age Britain.

Janus is a showcase of sustainable technologies, including solar panels, a biomass wood-burning boiler and rainwater harvesting. The new building is truly sustainable; none of our wastewater goes into the sewers. It is all filtered through a reedbed, creating a wetland area.”