Tomorrow as part of HM’s Jubilee 2012, the Queen will
officially re-open the Cutty Sark to the public, nearly five years after it was
gutted by a fire.
An industrial vacuum cleaner which was left switched on led
to the fire, causing damage estimated at
£10m.
At the time the cost of continuing the restoration project
was questioned, as people thought the conservation team would literally have to
re-build the whole ship.
Luckily, however, large sections of the boat had already
been removed and put into storage, and fire-fighters did a remarkable job to
save as much of the ship's original fabric. If a large percentage had been
destroyed the ship would only have become a mock version of its original true
self.
Grimshaw Architects have designed a new dry dock for the
restored ship, raising it 3.3m up into
the air revealing the hull and allowing visitors to walk underneath for the
first time.
The design to me looks slightly watered down when compared
to original concept visuals, which show the boat floating on a web of glazing
and steel supports, all connected at the ship's waterline to give it the
illusion of being back at sea cutting through the waves. Now the steel
structure and glazing have been separated and the new enveloping glass canopy
looks a bit like a greenhouse from outside. This may have been down to the
structural stability and to provide a cost effective approach, as the budget
had become very tight after the fire.
However, the internal shots from below the hull do look
fantastic and are much more reminiscent of the original dry dock locations the
boat has frequented.
In total, the restoration has cost more than £50m so lets
hope she's well looked after from her on in.
