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The outstanding built form in Orkney in general, and Stromness in particular, has looked, to some, haphazard, but is considered and deliberate.

 

Buildings put their "shoulders" – their gables – to the wind, or the street, with intervening buildings perpendicular to them, forming small courts or gardens between. This pattern of building is seen not only along the main streets of Stromness (and Kirkwall), but in mansion houses such as Skaill House, and in Shetland's "Lodberrie" buildings.

 

These courts form nice, sheltered entry spaces that mitigate the northern climate, but the form works as a "windbreak" at a larger scale too, the raggedy, angled length of Stromness' main street breaking the wind up, dissapating it instead of tunnelling it.

 

We want to respect and reuse this form, augmenting the historic Warehouse building with a series of perpendicular buildings which form traditional courts to access them. This perpendicular development continues into the square. The primary building here is the "Shed", a multi-use pavillion that is reminiscent of the herring sheds that once clustered here. This pavilion is then augmented by a windbreak wall to shelter the square from the cold winds off the Voe, acting like an Orkney Chair to screen market stalls or a public event.

 

Around the Square flagpoles, or fixed masts, act as anchors for pull-out awnings to protect stalls and advertise the town's heart, their flapping halyards recalling those of the herring fleet.