After fifty years sitting as a monument to the Age of Sail, the Cutty Sark – whiskey namesake and last of the China clippers – is getting a well-earned renovation to return the ship to its original 1869 glory. In order to create a temporary shipyard around the vessel, London-based Grimshaw Architects has designed a soaring structure held aloft by pneumatic beams from the firm Airlight of Switzerland.

Enclosing a 250-foot ship in a protective arch shows the new possibilities of inflatable architecture; interim urban forms every bit as elegant and exciting as brick, concrete, and timber buildings.

The Sunday Times’ critic Hugh Pearman’s article on the architecture surrounding the Cutty Sark renovation.

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See Also: Heineken Beer Bottle Bricks,Pill Bottles,Plastic Bottle Blowing,

This entry was posted by Jeffrey Goodman on Monday, August 28th, 2006 at 7:01 am and is filed under Design, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.