The century-old Clydebank Titan Crane has come out top in the
Civic Trust 50th Anniversary Awards winning the first-ever
"Scotland Placemaking Award" at the Emirates Stadium in
London.
Recently opened as a heritage visitor attraction, the "A" listed
Titan Crane was singled out by the judges for its "innovative
restoration" and its night time computerised coloured lighting
scheme which brings the crane to life as "a powerful emblem of the
regeneration of the area"
The Titan won two awards - the prestigious Civic Trust Award
and, against 48 other entries, the new special "Scotland
Placemaking" Civic Trust Award, sponsored by The Scotland
Government
Scotland's Minister of Culture, Michael Russell MSP said "The
first winner of the special award for placemaking , the Titan Crane
in Clydebank, illustrates how a creative approach to conserving
heritage can enrich the unique character of a community.
"The Titan Crane is an inspiring and long lasting example of how
a sympathetic approach to cultural and historic aspects of spatial
development can enhance the creation of new places in
Scotland".
Eleanor McAllister, managing director of Clydebank Re-built, the
urban regeneration company for the town which initiated the £3
million Titan restoration said:
"These awards are another great recognition for Clydebank
and for our work in restoring the Titan, the oldest shipbuilding
crane of its kind in the world
"Winning both the Civic Trust Award and the Scotland
Placemaking Award is a very special achievement and recognises the
innovative design of Collective Architecture in restoring the crane
and creating a lift access for visitors to the top of the Crane
that respects this iconic heritage structure on the River
Clyde"
The Civic Trust awards are the third major award for the
Titan. Last year the Titan won an international
architectural award from the Chicago Athenaeum, Museum of
Architecture and Design.
The Titan was built in 1907 at a cost of £24,600 by Sir William
Arrol & Co and could handle loads of up to 150 tons and later
200 tons, essential for John Browns Shipyards to build and fit out
the world's biggest liners and battleships last century..
Restoration work on the Clydebank Titan took two years.
The architects were Collective Architecture of Glasgow and the main
contractor was Maclean & Speirs, also from
Glasgow. The project was funded by Scottish
Enterprise Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire Council, Scottish
Government, Historic Scotland and the European Regional Development
Fund.
The Titan is the only "A" listed building in Clydebank and is
now all that remains of the former John Brown's shipyards, once
renowned for building the biggest liners, including the Queens,
last century. The shipyards site below the crane has been
renamed Queens Quay and is currently undergoing major
redevelopment. The first project on the site was the new
Clydebank College.
Since the Titan opened to the public in August 2007, over 13,000
visitors have already taken the lift 150 feet up to the top of the
Titan, seen the old workings of the crane and the exhibition in the
wheelhouse, and from the jib platform enjoyed the views over
the Clyde and the surrounding countryside.
The Titan Crane is open to the public on Fridays,
Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 10 am till 5pm from 1st May
till 5th October
2009.