Project Headlines​

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Project Status: Complete

Architectural Services: RIBA work stage 2

Construction value: £50k

Development Area: 100sqm

Client: Private homeowner

Location: South Dock, Rotherhithe

 

Brief & Context

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A couple with a bold vision to make their home on a 70ft-long Dutch barge invited us to help them survey the shell and explore its potential.

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TJA’s Response

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The need for two bedrooms, two bathrooms, lots of storage and improved insulation required new partitions and linings, but we sought to arrange these in ways that would not lose the legibility of the boat's distinct volumes, shapes and details. The bowls of the boat suited softly lit bedrooms in new fore and aft cabins, while the central hold could take a large living room with natural light from a new feature-stair to the wheelhouse above. We designed a new wheelhouse with metal cladding to be true to the original look externally, but thermally separated from a timber frame within, achieving decent energy efficiency. This is where we located the kitchen, which opens onto the deck like a roof terrace. The double-glazed window system was specified to ensure sufficient visibility for the wheelhouse to function when journeys are made.

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