Portsoy Boatbuilding Centre

This boat-building and educational centre for the local community is built upon the ruins of a derelict building in Portsoy harbour on the North coast of Scotland. 

As a centre of maritime culture and history, this is an important project for Portsoy — used for the construction of timber boats, the building is also used for the teaching of traditional boat building skills to people of all ages, largely from the local community. Members of the community also helped in its construction. 

A primary Glulam (engineered timber) was created to form a roof on the repaired original stone walls of the building. The result is a large industrial-like work space, which is lined in birch-plywood in contrast with the exposed stonework elements — creating a practical but warm interior.

The building was commissioned by the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, whose volunteers were instrumental in completion of the project. Allowing the community to shape the space, which is so important to the preservation of this local craft, was a key principle of the project.

The project was partly funded by Aberdeenshire Council, CARS (a collaboration between Aberdeenshire Council and Historic Scotland) and the Aberdeenshire European Fisheries Fund. 

"Brown & Brown took a very difficult derelict site and have transformed it into our boat building and sailing education centre. The site has considerable constraints, and as a result meeting our requirements was always going to be difficult. Through imaginative design we have a building that fits with the historic context of the harbour, and combines modern design elements to an extremely high standard, while suiting our needs perfectly."
James Crombie, Vice-Chair Scottish Traditional Boat Festival

Location

Aberdeenshire

Year Completed

2015

Project Team

Emma
Kate
Andrew

Engineer

Rubislaw Engineer

Contractor

Renders

Photography

Awards

— Scottish Design Award 2016, Leisure / Culture Building
— Aberdeen Society of Architects Award 2016
— Structural Timber Award 2016, Project of the Year (Finalist)
— 2017 Civic Trust Award, Finalist

Portsoy Boatbuilding Centre
Info

This boat-building and educational centre for the local community is built upon the ruins of a derelict building in Portsoy harbour on the North coast of Scotland. 

As a centre of maritime culture and history, this is an important project for Portsoy — used for the construction of timber boats, the building is also used for the teaching of traditional boat building skills to people of all ages, largely from the local community. Members of the community also helped in its construction. 

A primary Glulam (engineered timber) was created to form a roof on the repaired original stone walls of the building. The result is a large industrial-like work space, which is lined in birch-plywood in contrast with the exposed stonework elements — creating a practical but warm interior.

The building was commissioned by the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, whose volunteers were instrumental in completion of the project. Allowing the community to shape the space, which is so important to the preservation of this local craft, was a key principle of the project.

The project was partly funded by Aberdeenshire Council, CARS (a collaboration between Aberdeenshire Council and Historic Scotland) and the Aberdeenshire European Fisheries Fund. 

"Brown & Brown took a very difficult derelict site and have transformed it into our boat building and sailing education centre. The site has considerable constraints, and as a result meeting our requirements was always going to be difficult. Through imaginative design we have a building that fits with the historic context of the harbour, and combines modern design elements to an extremely high standard, while suiting our needs perfectly."
James Crombie, Vice-Chair Scottish Traditional Boat Festival

Location

Aberdeenshire

Year Completed

2015

Project Team

Emma
Kate
Andrew

Engineer

Rubislaw Engineer

Contractor

Renders

Photography

Awards

— Scottish Design Award 2016, Leisure / Culture Building
— Aberdeen Society of Architects Award 2016
— Structural Timber Award 2016, Project of the Year (Finalist)
— 2017 Civic Trust Award, Finalist

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Projects

We are increasingly asked to complete the interior design of a building. For us, this is an obvious step to ensuring the space blends with the landscape, from the inside out. Selecting complimentary materials, fixtures and furnishings that ebb and flow throughout the building is considered not as an afterthought, but as an integral part of the design process.