Windermere Jetty Museum is one of six buildings shortlisted for The 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture.
On the eve of the announcement we sit down with architect of the museum Andy Groarke as he explains his vision for the project and what it feels for the building to be judged as one of Britain’s best.
Explain Carmody Groarke’s vision for Windermere Jetty Museum
The building has been designed around the visitor experience to make a connection between people, boats and water. The design reinterprets the site’s industrial heritage (as a gravel extraction site) and Windermere’s picturesque landscape, to create a public building which is simultaneously civic and welcoming.
Breaking down the scale of a very large museum into a cluster of pitched roof forms was a key concept for the building, with large roof overhangs providing all-weather shelter in the landscape for the protection of boats and for visitors. Clad in copper, to give consistency and equivalence to the overall cluster of buildings, the museum will gently weather over time with a patina of oxidisation forming across the external surface.
An early sketch of what would become Windermere Jetty Museum by Carmody Groarke
How did you approach a project like this?
We were one of eight practices shortlisted in an international design competition and we had a couple of months to develop initial ideas for the project. This involved visiting the site and meeting the conservation team so that we could get to know the boat collection.
After we won the competition, we spent a year working closely with Lakeland Arts, learning more about the collection, marine engineering and gaining a better understanding of the site and its ecology. Our design process involved making more than a dozen architectural models to test ideas about form, space and materials and we also made 1:1 mock-ups of key parts of the building to see how the materials would come together in their final form.
What was it like creating this magnificent museum in a World Heritage Site?
It was an enormous privilege to be trusted to design a building in such a beautiful place. The Lake District National Park is such a unique landscape and we felt it was important that the building touched lightly on the environment and as far as possible enhanced its setting.
Lee Mann Photography
Working closely with the design team, which included Arup’s engineers and Jonathan Cook Landscape Architects, we were able to design a building which has not only repurposed a former industrial site but, through thoughtful landscape interventions, has in fact created more biodiversity in terms of ecology.
We couldn’t have done this would the support of Lakeland Arts, Lake District National Park and the Environment Agency.
Two and a half years on, how does it feel to see the museum so popular with visitors?
It’s fantastic to see the building open to the public and being enjoyed by so many people, especially after a period of closure during Covid-related lockdowns.
During our design process we spent a lot of time thinking about how to create an exciting and enjoyable visitor experience, where the building becomes the background to how people engage with the lake and the collection. So, it’s great to now see the diverse ways in which the site is being used; from Shakespeare plays down in the boatyard to wild swimming off the jetties.
Windermere Jetty
We get a lot of architecture enthusiasts visiting the museum – did you expect this to happen?
Architects do like visiting buildings! Especially buildings in such a picturesque setting. We hope that they don’t just look at the architecture of the buildings but take their time to learn about the collection. There is a lot architects can learn from boat engineering in terms of design economy, efficiency and delight.
What does it mean to be shortlisted for The 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize?
It’s an incredible honour for Windermere Jetty Museum to have been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize. It has come almost 10 years to the day since we submitted our proposals for the design competition and we are indebted to Lakeland Arts and the entire project team for their tenacity and dedication in realising the project.
The winner of the 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize will be announced on Thursday 14 October on BBC News Channel at 1930.
