Titan Crane Visitor's Centre at Clydebank has been recognised
with an International Award for Architecture.
The International Architectural Awards which was awarded to
Collective Architecture by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum,
promotes international architecture and new and cutting edge design
on a global scale.
Ewan Imrie, project architect for Titan Crane said, "I am
absolutely delighted that the Titan Crane, Clydebank has been
recognised on the international stage. The award bears testament to
the huge effort that has gone into the regeneration of Titan
Crane and the determination of the people of Clydebank and
Clydebank Re-built to see their crane preserved as a monument to
Clydebank's proud past. Our proposals for the Titan Crane were
designed to celebrate the crane as an important landmark with the
installation of the feature-lighting visible for afar, and to fully
restore the crane to preserve it for years to come. The new
elements, primarily the visitor centre, viewing platform, lift and
stair, were designed to be as discreet as possible while echoing
the industrial aesthetic of the shipyard, so as not to detract from
the crane itself and to ensure that visitors could have a entirely
unique and authentic experience of standing atop a crane at 150ft
above ground."
This year the Museum received nearly 1,000 entries for
architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning from a
wide range of practices around the world. The jury consisted of a
distinguished group of American architects and educators under the
auspices of The New York Chapter of the American Institute of
Architects.
The Titan Crane was one of only 14 projects from the UK to be
given the award, in recognition of its iconic status as a symbol of
the Clyde's industrial heritage, and as a catalyst for the current
regeneration of the Clydebank waterfront, the former location of
the Clydebank shipyards. Collective Architecture said they were
thrilled to receive an award that recognises the Titan Crane on an
international level.
The Titan crane will be featured as part of an Exhibition in
Athens in January and February 2009. The exhibition will then
travel to other locations within Europe until the end of June.
About Titan Clydebank
The Titan Clydebank is an outstanding symbol of the Clydeʼs
industrial heritage, and a catalytic icon for the regeneration of
Clydebank and its future. Today, the Titan is at the heart of
Clydebank Re-built's regeneration of the waterfront area around the
former Clydebank Shipyard.
It was the first Sir William Arrol Titan on the Clyde. It could
lift 150 tons when built and was upgraded to 200 tons in 1937. It
assisted in the building of many famous ships including The
Lusitania, The Queen Mary and the QE2. Standing 150 feet above
ground level, Titan is still the most prominent and recognisable
object on the Clydebank skyline.
Collective Architecture's involvement in the project began in
January 2003, having won a competition todevelop a lighting
strategy for the Titan Clydebank. It soon became apparent that The
Titanʼs historical and cultural importance merited full
restoration, with the potential to attract serious funding: in
addition to being an iconic monument for Clydebank, it could also
become a unique visitor attraction.
The restoration involved shot-blasting the old paint and rust to
bring the structure back to bare steel before applying primer coats
and a final top coat. The new stair and lift shafts are steel
frames clad in a robust aluminium cladding to reference the
industrial heritage of the site. The lift shaft is punctured with
tall windows providing spectacular glimpses of the existing
structure during ascent.
The viewing platform is enclosed with a fine cable net fence and
floored with an open mesh grating allowing visitors to walk along
the jib, 150ft above the River Clyde, and soak in the exhilarating
views. The wheelhouse has been refurbished to allow visitors to
experience the huge lifting equipment, while information panels
tell the story of the crane, the shipyard and the people who lived
and worked around the Titan.
At night, illumination brings the Titan to life, silhouetting
the diagonal structure with coloured and white light, and casting
dramatic shadows on the quayside below.
The Titan Clydebank opened on August 3rd 2007 as a unique
attraction where day visitors and residents, schools, clubs and
societies can enjoy a major piece of industrial heritage as a
living
experience.