Feeling O'Canine (Interior Major Project) | Page 12

1. INTRODUCTION
The Southsea Rowing Club
The Rowing club is situated on a quieter section of the beach, with its
north-east facing façade facing the sea. The club originally formed
of 4 amateur rowers in 1860, the club being a small wooden hut in
the modern buildings place. The boats remained protected in the
club house through the Second World war, whilst the building was
utilised as an officer’s mess,becoming a social hub for the Military
Personnel. The majority of the club’s wood fittings were stripped for
firewood when D-Day equipment was being built, the boats however
were spared. A fire in 1959 devastated what remained of the club
and all the boats and equipment that resided in it. It was reopened
in the form of the current structure we see today the following year,
1960 by Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Now president of the club.
The collage of site images, colour picks from the side and sketched,
ensemble to envisage the aesthetics of the Southsea Rowing club
as it stands in present day. These materials each were designed for
mundane use of the building as a place to store and protect rowing
equipment as opposed to a place which encourages gathering and
interaction. Therefor the materials and textures are not welcoming or
exciting but rather what is simply necessary. The proposal of Feeling
O’Canine centre allows for a new lease of life to be breathed into the
space. An opportunity for a space that users can experience, enjoy,
and benefit from.
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