The new Maritime Museum, completed in 2002, is set between the town centre and the large warehouses of the docks. Here it provides a focus for local identity and attracts the visitors on which the Cornish economy now depends.
ArchitectLong and Kentish
ClientNational Maritime Museum, Cornwall
Project TypePublic Space
CollectionsMass Timber
LocationCornwall
Structural EngineerArup Associates
Main ContractorAtkins and Cripps
Product InfoGreen oak cladding
Timber SpeciesAsh, Oak
Timber ElementsCladding, battens, counter-battens
Falmouth is one of the largest deep-water natural harbours in the world; it has always had a fishing fleet and was once a convenient stopping off place for the great ships on the Atlantic. The town grew along the western side of the Fal estuary, curving round into docks at the southern end where a headland projects to narrow the mouth.
The new Maritime Museum, completed in 2002, is set between the town centre and the large warehouses of the docks. Here it provides a focus for local identity and attracts the visitors on which the Cornish economy now depends. The new building combines two separate museums; the National Maritime Museum, whose small boat collection had been locked up in storage and the local Cornwall Maritime Museum which needed new accommodation. The brief called for an area of around 5,000 m2, some of which had to have at least 12 metres of headroom, together with smaller display and service areas.
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