Waterfront place concept for Dundee City Council

Challenge

SLR’s Place team were commissioned by Dundee City Council to prepare designs for an integrated landscape-and-buildings design for an exciting new public space situated on Dundee’s Waterfront.

Solution

SLR’s architectural design for the pavilions has ensured they are genuinely integrated and indistinguishable from the overall landscape concept. Envisaged in the form of a stylized coastal dune-scape, the building forms are asymmetrical, covered with varied landscape finishes, and open up occasionally to allow entry and views through. The oblique reference to a natural cavern is bolstered internally by the proposal for walls, floor and soffit to be exposed concrete, further accentuated by the fact that aspects of wall and soffit are set at raking angles reflective of the landform shape externally. A walkable flat glazed roof-light at the apex of the building provides useful natural lighting within, offers a fun, dynamic and existing experience from above, and ties in nicely with the idea of a natural cavern roof having an enticing gap through which the sky can be seen from below.

Impact

The overall space is designed to excite, encourages a range of active uses and engages all who choose to explore the wider waterfront. It is a space that includes a range of features, surfaces and opportunities for play, marking a key point of activity on the edge of the River Tay, and in combination with the V&A Museum of Design and Slessor Gardens forms an important focus for outdoor activity and interaction. A range of facilities are provided including: An Urban Beach; Pavilion buildings; Decorative Water features; and supporting landscape features.

Waterfront Place’s location between the large formal space of Slessor Gardens and the striking and powerful architecture of the V&A Museum of Design means that it has an important role to play in counter-balancing these two different spaces while being a significant space in its own right.