Orkney’s Creative Catalyst
Stromness Post Office
Redevelopment of the former Stromness Post Office to create a creative arts hub for the Pier Arts Centre as part of Orkney's Creative Catalyst initiative. The project transforms a prominent civic building within the heart of Stromness into a place for learning, participation, making and exchange, while providing new facilities to support the Pier Arts Centre's growing collection and community programme.
The former Stromness Post Office occupies a distinctive position within the historic core of Stromness. Set at a widening in Victoria Street and standing slightly apart from the surrounding vernacular buildings, it has long been recognised as a civic presence within the town. For generations it served as a place of connection, exchange and public service. Following its closure, the building stood largely vacant, its future uncertain yet its significance within the life and memory of the community undiminished.
Working with the Pier Arts Centre, Reiach and Hall developed proposals to transform the former Post Office into a new creative arts hub as part of Orkney's Creative Catalyst. Together with the existing Pier Arts Centre and the residency programme at Linkshouse, the project forms part of a wider cultural vision that seeks to strengthen artistic practice, learning and community participation across Orkney. The role of the Post Office is to provide a place for engagement and making, complementing the reflective gallery spaces of the Pier Arts Centre.
The proposals retain and adapt the historic street-front building while introducing a new extension within the substantial cutting hidden behind Victoria Street. Organised around studios, learning spaces, collection storage, administration facilities and public participation areas, the project creates a sequence of interconnected spaces that link the street, the building and the garden rising towards Brinkie's Brae. Throughout, the design seeks to work with the site's existing qualities, including its dramatic topography, magnificent flagstone retaining walls, hidden garden and close relationship to the surrounding townscape.
Central to the design is the idea of opening the building once again to the public realm. New shopfront and engagement spaces animate Victoria Street, while a second entrance through the historic vennel provides accessible access and creates a memorable route through the site. The project reimagines a well-loved civic building for contemporary use, establishing a place where artists, residents, visitors and learners can meet, create and exchange ideas, while ensuring the long-term future of an important part of Stromness's architectural and cultural heritage.
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Area
658m²Client
Pier Arts Centre -
Architect / Lead Consultant
Reiach and Hall Architects
Structural Engineer
Narro Associates
Services Engineer / Sustainability Consultant
Max Fordham
Landscape Architect
Horner + Maclennan
Quantity Surveyor
Gardiner & Theobald
CDM Advisor
Alliance CDM
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The former Stromness Post Office occupies a distinctive position within the historic core of Stromness. Set at a widening in Victoria Street and standing slightly apart from the surrounding vernacular buildings, it has long been recognised as a civic presence within the town. For generations it served as a place of connection, exchange and public service. Following its closure, the building stood largely vacant, its future uncertain yet its significance within the life and memory of the community undiminished.
Working with the Pier Arts Centre, Reiach and Hall developed proposals to transform the former Post Office into a new creative arts hub as part of Orkney's Creative Catalyst. Together with the existing Pier Arts Centre and the residency programme at Linkshouse, the project forms part of a wider cultural vision that seeks to strengthen artistic practice, learning and community participation across Orkney. The role of the Post Office is to provide a place for engagement and making, complementing the reflective gallery spaces of the Pier Arts Centre.
The proposals retain and adapt the historic street-front building while introducing a new extension within the substantial cutting hidden behind Victoria Street. Organised around studios, learning spaces, collection storage, administration facilities and public participation areas, the project creates a sequence of interconnected spaces that link the street, the building and the garden rising towards Brinkie's Brae. Throughout, the design seeks to work with the site's existing qualities, including its dramatic topography, magnificent flagstone retaining walls, hidden garden and close relationship to the surrounding townscape.
Central to the design is the idea of opening the building once again to the public realm. New shopfront and engagement spaces animate Victoria Street, while a second entrance through the historic vennel provides accessible access and creates a memorable route through the site. The project reimagines a well-loved civic building for contemporary use, establishing a place where artists, residents, visitors and learners can meet, create and exchange ideas, while ensuring the long-term future of an important part of Stromness's architectural and cultural heritage.
Sketchbook
