Output details

Cutty Sark

The aim of the project was to find an design research solution that would allow the Cutty Sark (the last surviving British tea clipper and a globally recognised icon of Britain’s maritime trading history), to be displayed in a way that facilitated its conservation, whilst simultaneously making it an accessible and financially viable visitor attraction in Greenwich. The project achieved this dual objective by ‘lifting’ the ship using an unique steel support system, to create greater space under the ship, provide safe and easy access to large numbers of visitors, and accommodate a range of administrative, servicing and visitor facilities. The project built on Nash’s earlier innovative steel design work, including the UK Pavilion at the Expo ’92 in Seville and the National Space Centre at Leicester, also completed while a Partner at Grimshaw LLP.

An innovative and specially designed steel skeleton made from beams that are supported from the massive concrete dry berth above which the ship is located lifts the ship and supports her keel and hull ribs. This creates a space underneath the ship that offers visitors an unprecedented sensorial experience and an opportunity to see, touch and appreciate the historically revolutionary shape and construction of the Cutty Sark’s hull. This design solution to a number of interrelated structural and architectural challenges is truly original and has never been attempted before. The practicality of lifting the ship was rigorously tested by structural and architectural research. The methodology employed included detailed site analyses, precedent studies, structural and dimensional surveys, stakeholder consultations, drawing, physical and computational model making, computational performance analyses and various forms of visualisation.

The project has been highly successful and been disseminated through publications and lectures. It has won RIBA Regional Award 2013, the Structural Steel Design Award 2013 and Large Visitor Attraction Bronze Medal 2012.