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 photo: Jaap Oepkes
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The River & Rowing MuseumMill Meadows, Henley on Thames, Oxon., UKThe design of this new museum draws both upon its boating theme and the forms of traditional local barn buildings. The effect of the oak-clad structure with its glazed ground floor is of a floating wooden boathall, raised on concrete stilts. The uppermost structures are of steel, and form the two main galleries. These are clad with boards of English oak, cut downwards at the edges to help drainage and fastened with 23,000 stainless steel screws. The framework rests on a concrete table, whose legs are positioned on a further concrete slab above the pile caps, or "stilts", which support the ground floor. Because all materials are exposed, creating in situ concrete columns and soffits with a perfect finish was one of the challenges of the specification. AIA Award (UK) excellence in design 1998 Civic Trust Award outstanding building of the year 1999 National Heritage museum of the year 1999 RIBA Award arts and leisure 1999 Royal Fine Art Commission/BSkyB Building of The Year 1999 |
