Architecture on the water

Architecture on the water

Salamander began as a drawing: a crisp, glazed volume set beside the terracotta mass of a Dortmunder. From a steel frame built in our yard to a finished exterior in bold orange steel, the result reads as contemporary architecture that happens to float. Architecture first, ship second, without compromising either.

A gallery of light

Inside, panoramic glazing runs the length of the ship and floods polished floors with daylight. Where most hulls close in, Salamander opens up: walls of glass bring the water inside, and the boundary between the room and the harbour almost disappears.

Folded ceilings and an orange frame

Overhead, white ceilings fold at dramatic angles, and a triangular skylight is outlined in the same orange steel as the facade. A staircase with a slender black handrail descends to the lower level. The atmosphere is closer to a gallery than a houseboat, and every line of it was drawn to work with the ship rather than against it.