| Architect |
Nicholas
Grimshaw Architects |
| Date
Built |
2012 |
| Location |
Greenwich.
London |
| The
Cutty Sark is a clipper ship built on the
Clyde in 1869. Unfortunately, she is a
ship that was built at the wrong time. The
Suez Canal opened in 1869 cutting voyage
times dramatically and reducing the
advantage that clipper ships had enjoyed in
the voyages around Africa. Steam
powered ships were also marginalizing
sailing ships. However, she did trade
between Britain and such destinations as
China and Australia carrying tea and
wool. In 1895 she was sold to a
Portugeuse company and renamed the
Ferreira. She was sold again in 1922
to a retired sea captain who converted her
into a training ship sailing out of
Falmouth. Finally in the 1950s she was
moved to Greenwich where she was placed in a
drydock and put on public display. In 2007, while she was undergoing a major refurbishment, a serious fire broke out on-board and extensive damage was done to the ship. Fortunately the damage was limited by the fact that during the refurbishment much of the ship had been dismantled and stored elsewhere. Following the fire, the ship has been restored and included in a new exhibition space designed by the architectural practice of Grimshaw Architects. This involved raising it up within the dry-dock to allow visitors to walk beneath it, as well as explore inside.  The dry-dock was given a
glass covering that made the ship appear
as if it were once more riding on the
ocean. Within the dock you will also
find a museum space and the usual museum
shop and cafe. The architects say of
their design that, "The
fully accessible interior will be
presented in its original, cargo
carrying form, allowing visitors to
explore the restored decks and crew
accommodation ....   ...
Grimshaw’s innovative design
proposes the raising of Cutty Sark
within the dry berth - providing a
new and captivating area for
visitors under her revolutionary
hull. A new supporting structure
cradles the lifted ship’s hull. .....
  ... In addition
to this, an enveloping glass canopy,
attached along the ship's waterline,
will give year-round protection to
visitors in the dry berth. ....
 ... The
resulting air-conditioned,
accessible space will become a place
for catered events and will be used
to articulate the Cutty Sark’s
unique story. All works will be
complete for HM’s Jubilee 2012 as a
gift from the Duke of Edinburgh."
 At one end of the
Cutty Sark centre you will find the
world's largest collection of
maritime figureheads assembled in
one place. They were
accummulated by Sydney Cumbers of
Gravesend.
  The new Cutty
Sark exhibit has not been without
controversy. The building was
nominated for and won the "Carbuncle
Cup", an award given by the magazine
Building Design for the ugliest
building completed in a given
year. BD describe it as, "Grimshaw’s
disastrously conceived
restoration of the Cutty Sark is
winner of this year’s BD
Carbuncle Cup, tragically
defiling the very thing it sets
out to save." The/Victorian
Society's Chris Costello said of it
that, "It's a pity that
commercial motives were placed
above heritage interests.
... The new design has obscured
the Cutty Sark's distinctive
shape at the quayside. Even the
part of the ship we can still
see includes an obtrusive lift
tower looming over the deck."
|
|
|
The Cutty
Sark, Greenwich, London
 |
