13.10.2008

Titan crane receives award

Collective Architecture and its client Clydebank Rebuilt, have received a top international award for architecture for their restoration of the Titan Crane and Visitor’s Centre, a key part of the redevelopment of Clydebank.

The International Architectural Awards are organised by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, and promote international architecture and cutting edge design.

This year the Museum received almost 1,000 entries for architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning from a wide range of practices around the world. The jury consisted of a number of distinguished American architects and educators under the auspices of The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

The Titan Crane won the award, in recognition of its iconic status as a symbol of the Clyde’s industrial heritage, and as a catalyst for the current regeneration of the former Clydebank shipyards.
Click here to see initial report
The Titan crane will be featured in a major architectural exhibition in Florence at the end of this month and later at the European Centre for Architecture in Athens. The exhibition will then travel to other locations within Europe until the end of June.

Built in the east end of Glasgow in 1907 at a cost of £24,600 by Sir William Arrol and Company, the crane was used in the fitting out of ships at the John Brown yard, including the Cunard liners like the Queen Mary and the QE2. From 1972 the Titan began to be used less frequently, as the yards moved towards building large oil rigs and platforms.
It was recognised as an A-listed building in 1988, the only building in Clydebank with this status and is all that remains now of the famous John Brown's shipyards. The £3 million restoration project on the Titan began in July 2005 and was completed last summer.