National Award for Artelia-led Command of the Oceans project at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham

Command of the Oceans at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, an Artelia-led Heritage Lottery Funded (HLF) project, has scooped the prestigious Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors National Award in the Tourism and Leisure category, against stiff competition from 11 other regional finalists.

The judges had high praise for the project which creates a new entrance building, alongside landscaping, galleries, visitor facilities and the display of a major archaeological find – the HMS Namur, known as the ‘Ship Beneath the Floor’:

“In a very strong field of entries, this project stood out as being of truly exceptional quality. The building showcases practical design that forms a landmark entrance to this historic dockyard. In addition, the creation of a sunken gallery provides a unique visitor experience while preserving important historic fabric. The judges felt that the scheme was a great example of teams making the most of a blend of expertise to produce stunning results.”

Managing Director, Mark Day and Project Director, Steve Prowse collected the award with the Dockyard Trust’s Chief Executive, Bill Ferris and Historic Buildings expert, Nigel Howard and other members of the project team.

Commenting on the Award, Mark Day said: “This National Award and the appreciation of our client, Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, recognises what a truly exceptional project Command of the Oceans is. The results are a testament to the calibre and skill of our Heritage Project Managers.”

Following Command of the Oceans, Artelia’s Heritage team were appointed to project manage a Heritage Enterprise project at the Dockyard, the Fitted Rigging House. This project, also enabled through an HLF grant, revitalises previously unoccupied space within a Grade 1 listed storehouse, creating around 3,600sqm of high-value commercial office space providing income for the Dockyard, as well as new offices for the Trust, a volunteer Centre, document archive, conservation studio and workshop/teaching spaces. The Fitted Rigging House has just been opened by Michael Ellis MP, the Minister for Art, Heritage and Tourism.