This tour is an exciting opportunity to get behind the scenes at ECA's floating boathouse for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. There will be a short talk from the architect, and the lifeboat operations manager will talk you through the adjacent crew room and answer any questions.
Tickets are very limited due to the small size of the venue and the nature of the use. If you reserve your ticket, please do let us know if you are unable to attend, as we want to fill every space.
Please note that there are no toilets available on site.
From the architect...
We achieved planning permission and designed this unique floating boathouse on Poole Quay for the RLNI. The ecological constraints (SSSI) as well as testing marine environment (building on the water) created a challenging project.
The brief was to provide facilities to house two in-shore lifeboats, hydraulic lifts, considerable kit and crew. Both boats must be deployable within 30 seconds. High-quality construction with low maintenance costs was essential to justify good management of charitable funds.
The building contributes to society via the work of the RLNI, improving operational efficiency in their primary aim to save lives at sea. In keeping with the principles of inclusive design and the RNLI’s ethos to provide robust, high-quality and transparent services, it is a unique transparent building, using clear polycarbonate to enable public views of operations inside the boathouse, day and night.
