The project has been designed for the Lakeland Arts Trust to rehouse the museum’s boat collection on the shores of Windermere in the Lake District National Park.
The project, supported by the Lakeland Arts Trust, includes new wet dock exhibition space for displaying boats, a conservation workshop, a learning centre, and a cafe.
The new museum has been arranged as a cluster of buildings within the landscape on the lakeshore. The composition of its pitched-roof forms is intended to forge a strong connection between visitors, boats and water.
The exhibition space at the Windermere Steamboat Museum will showcase boats with the stories of its construction, owners and use on Windermere. A conservation workshop at the museum will offer visitors a chance to watch boat builders and apprentices at work. The wet-dock at the heart of the museum showcases boats on water.
In addition to the core display space, a learning centre offering an inspiring programme for visitors of all ages will be central to the development, as will a new museum cafe which will offer panoramic views to the north of Windermere.
The completed museum will be self-sustaining with no core statutory funding.
The Rural Development Programme for England and the government’s Regional Growth Fund are also contributing to the project.
Carmody Groarke won a RIBA Competition to design the project in late 2011.
