The Windermere Jetty – Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories offers a unique visitor experience, combining a diverse collection of historic boats, live conservation workshops and high-quality architecture. The building has been constructed by Thomas Armstrong and was named Design of the Year and Cultural Project of the Year at the 2019 AJ Architecture Awards. In developing the design, the architects were keen to do justice to the rich social history contained within the museum and its stunning lakeside location. Following an extensive study of cladding materials and how they would respond to the challenging Lake District climate, they selected a corrugated oxidised copper cladding for the rainscreen façade and roof.
The sustainability of the museum was a priority throughout with the buildings carefully oriented to ensure high levels of natural light. The buildings were also designed to be highly energy efficient and as part of this approach Kingspan Kooltherm K15 was specified for the walls of the main museum building with Kingspan Thermapitch TP10 chosen for its pitched roof.