Gloucester Docks

FORMstudio’s competition winning entry for Gloucester docks provides offices and a visitor centre for British Waterways. The building, aligned with the adjacent dry dock, contains the regional offices, with an exhibition space and shop in the glass ‘prow’ orientated towards the main dock. The siting demarcates the dockside walk, channelling visitors through or around the tall glazed space.

The footprint of the building is similar in scale and proportion to those of the surrounding warehouses, but set at 45 degrees to them, in harmonic counterpoint to the general grain. The form and orientation minimise solar gain whilst facilitating natural ventilation via opening windows and a high level clerestorey.