005 A VESSEL ON THE BROADS
COMPETITION
2018
COMPETITION
2018
A striking characteristic of The Norfolk Broads is its flatness; the
perceived scale of the landscape is heightened by the expansiveness of the
horizon, created by the absence of high ground. As a result of this condition, human intervention and activity is highly conspicuous. Certain
structures have consequently become synonymous with the area - and of these the
Norfolk Wherry is perhaps the most distinctive. These long, low-lying wooden
boats have navigated the waterways of The Broads for centuries, their huge black sails forming an arresting visual counterpoint to
the landscape through which they sail.
The proposal - a public building containing facilities for education and recreation - is conceived as a vessel; a structure negotiating the ambiguous territory between water and land.
An arrangement of wooden piles and beams creates an elevated platform onto which the body of the building rests, like a boat in dry dock. The purpose in raising the building off the ground is twofold: both as a means of mitigating the effect of flooding; and as a way of providing an elevated vantage point for users of the building to observe the landscape.
The building is composed of prefabricated cross-laminated timber panels (CLT). Externally, rigid insulation and EPDM shrouds the CLT structure, forming a resilient waterproof jacket. The colour and texture of the bulding’s skin is redolent of the Wherry’s sail, historically treated with a mixture of tar and fish oil to increase the fabric’s durability, lending it a deep black hue.
Internally, the cross-laminated timber structure is left exposed. Floors, walls and ceiling surfaces read as a consistent surface, engendering an atmosphere of warmth and security like that of a boat’s cabin; a sanctuary from the elements.
Large horizontal openings around the building’s perimeter allow unobstructed views out to the landscape. An orb of light is projected onto the tall wall of the largest interior space through an oculus, reminding occupants of the earth’s constant rotation and the gravitational effect of the sun and moon on the tidal waterways beside which the building stands.
The proposal - a public building containing facilities for education and recreation - is conceived as a vessel; a structure negotiating the ambiguous territory between water and land.
An arrangement of wooden piles and beams creates an elevated platform onto which the body of the building rests, like a boat in dry dock. The purpose in raising the building off the ground is twofold: both as a means of mitigating the effect of flooding; and as a way of providing an elevated vantage point for users of the building to observe the landscape.
The building is composed of prefabricated cross-laminated timber panels (CLT). Externally, rigid insulation and EPDM shrouds the CLT structure, forming a resilient waterproof jacket. The colour and texture of the bulding’s skin is redolent of the Wherry’s sail, historically treated with a mixture of tar and fish oil to increase the fabric’s durability, lending it a deep black hue.
Internally, the cross-laminated timber structure is left exposed. Floors, walls and ceiling surfaces read as a consistent surface, engendering an atmosphere of warmth and security like that of a boat’s cabin; a sanctuary from the elements.
Large horizontal openings around the building’s perimeter allow unobstructed views out to the landscape. An orb of light is projected onto the tall wall of the largest interior space through an oculus, reminding occupants of the earth’s constant rotation and the gravitational effect of the sun and moon on the tidal waterways beside which the building stands.