BOATHOUSE 4 - PORTSMOUTH

A small boat museum and boatbuilding workshop for Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has won £3.75m HLF funding, thanks to the design proposals from Real Studios and Walters & Cohen Architects, with Focus Consultants as project managers. It is set to open in 2015. Boathouse 4, a cathedral-sized World War II building, will house Real-Studios' exhibition, detailing the history of small craft construction and deployment, as well as the Boathouse's role in the development of the X-craft - three-man submarines used to attack German battleships during World War II. The exhibition space will overlook the main workshop in the centre of the building, where real-life boat construction and conservation will take place. The International Boat Building College will be offering apprenticeships and bursaries, as of 2015, to help train local unemployed people. Real Studios won the project after a competitive pitch.