The Sailmakers
Stage 4 - Studio Project
The Sail Research Facility
This project is the culmination of the studio year. Located at the Millwall Docks it replaces an existing Sail School on the site from c. 1980s, and adds a facility for the production and testing of sail cloth to advance the capability of sailing cargo ships of the future - helping to reduce carbon emissions from global shipping in a bid to tackle climate change. The ‘production’ building features equipment for material intake and storage; sailcloth weaving, cutting, spraying, and stitching; a lab for testing the properties of the materials devised; while also providing a route to tour professional and tourist visitors to educate them about the importance and future of sail. The building also features a workshop to building and repair the Thames Barges and Mobile Sail Lofts based here, which are detailed below.
The sail school building is connected via a new bridge over the re-opened Millwall Locks, allowing medium sized ships to pass through to the Thames, and further out to sea from there. The sail school has a reception, classroom space, a nurses station, storage for equipment, a cafe with club function room, a covered roof terrace, and changing rooms. Combined, the two buildings will produce new fabrics to power the ships, and new crew to operate them.
The Mobile Sail Loft
The first mini-brief, the ‘Classroom Continuum’, looked at the basic nature of the classroom. I proposed a semi-permanent, mobile classroom which could travel across the Kent and Essex coast to set up workshops and repair days for those seafarers who need a helping hand mending their vessels. This would promote the craft of sailmaking, and hence layman knowledge. The classroom would be based out of London, from the main dock at the Spring Term’s project, the ‘Institute of Knowledge’. This project.
The Apprenticeship Studio
In its journey down the Kentish Coast, the Thames Barge carrying the mobile classroom will stop in Rochester, the site of the second mini brief: the ‘Apprenticeship Studio’. Nestled amidst the trees of a riverside park, the Studio will provide a technical education to those wanting to study the craft of Sailmaking, and will provide maintenance and design services to paying customers as a way of providing hands on experience to the students. The park is flanked by a school and new housing development, the residents of which would be interested in the facilities provided. The building provides ‘eyes on-the-street’ for the park, keeping it safe. It is truly a pillar of the community.
