No. 1 Smithery Chatham, Historic Dockyard Building Kent, Architect, Photos, Award
No. 1 Smithery, Chatham
Building in Kent, Southeast England design by van Heyningen and Haward Architects, UK
19 May 2011
No. 1 Smithery, Chatham Dockyard Building
Design: van Heyningen and Haward Architects
photos © James Brittain
RIBA Award winner, 19th of May 2011
This is a museum within the museum; its function is to show both building and the objects it houses. The ‘falling-down’ majesty of the existing buildings has been artfully retained and gently restored. The new exhibition spaces are constructed as separate elements – highly insulated, air tight, with thermal mass – they require very little beyond minimal temperature control, and low lighting.
They provide a sophisticated 21st century museum environment, and successfully operate within the conserved, historic fabric. These rendered abstract boxes sit quietly within the stately Georgian sheds; once inside, you are within a space that commands no presence and is purely dedicated to the display of the exhibits within. The plain and stark contrast between these two places is dramatic.
photos © James Brittain
No. 1 Smithery Chatham – Building Information
Title: No. 1 Smithery
Location: The Historic Dockyard, Chatham
Architect: van Heyningen and Haward Architects
Client: Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Imperial War Museum, National Maritime Museum
Contractor: Kingswood Construction (Emergency Stabilisation Works), RG Barwick, ISG Interior/Exterior (Main works completion)
Contract Value: £9.5m
Completion Date: Jul 2010
Gross internal area: 4445 sqm
van Heyningen and Haward Architects
Location: Chatham, Kent, south east England, UK
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