African Design Magazine ADM #38 March 2018 | Page 39

BOATHOUSE 4
Conclusion
The design team has brought back into use
a building that was otherwise destined for
demolition and brings together Highbury
College, the International Boatbuilding
Training College (IBTC), the exhibition
and restaurant. All parties benefit each
other and the local community because
the building is thriving, and the series of
activity programmes encourage the public
to explore boatbuilding and the heritage of
boats on the site. In particular, young people
at Highbury College have benefitted from
an opportunity to work alongside more
senior and experienced boatbuilders, giving
them an unparalleled experience when
considering this as a career.
Boathouse 4 – Working detail:
Boathouse 4
Walters & Cohen
Location Plan
1:1000 @ A3
5
A building within a building
1 - Victory Gate entrance
2 - ticket office
3 - HMS Warrior
4 - entrance to Boathouse 4
5 - Boathouse 7
6 - Mast Pond
7 - Portsmouth Harbour
6
(with 1:10 section through restaurant/joinery wall)
4
The southwestern zone of
Boathouse 4 projects over the
water to enable boats to enter
the building directly from
the harbour through the tidal
canal. This section is supported
on a substructure of reinforced
concrete V-beams over precast
piles and caps. These had
suffered considerable deterioration over the years due to the severe exposure to seawater, and
extensive repairs to this undercroft structure were carried out before any additional load was
applied by the new building.
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3
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The new space is insulated and heated, sitting within the unheated existing shell. The first floor
slab of the new building is designed to be as light as possible, constructed from lightweight
concrete on profiled metal decking; by restricting the lifting capacity of the gantry cranes,
loading on the existing foundations is further reduced.
The building within a building is deliberately set down from the level of the cranes and the
existing shed structure, and hugs the external walls so as to amplify the steelwork and the
sheer volume of the space. This also has the advantage of providing first floor spaces that sit
between the boatbuilding activity and the sea.
Inside the restaurant/café, a long slot window enables views back over the central space and
the raised oak floor is acoustically separated from the noisy workshops below. Both the existing
lattice pillars and new steel columns are revealed, and the education spaces at ground floor
level have large sliding metal doors that open to the central space in the warmer months. Their
sliding gear is left exposed, taking advantage of the industrial feel of the building.
AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE ©
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