The stair links the defensive western end of the Royal William Yard and the South West Coast path above the site. The Yard was designed by Sir John Rennie to supply the entire Royal navy Fleet with beer, rum, ships biscuits and cured meat. Built between 1826 and 1831 it was used continually by the Navy until the 1990’s when it closed and has since been subject to one of the largest regeneration programmes in the South West. Gillespie Yunnie Architects have been working with award winning regeneration company Urban Splash since 2005 on the multi award winning Grade I Listed site, which now houses a mixture of apartments, offices, shops and restaurants. The Royal William Yard has always been a dead end due to its naturally defensive nature and peninsular location, and a staircase linking the far end of the Yard with the open green space of the peninsular above has always been a key part of the regeneration master plan, to allow residents to access the park and historic battlements at the top of the high retaining wall, and allow walkers to continue along the Coast Path route via a dramatic piece of architecture. As a practice we are very aware of how stunning our local coastline is, we all sail, surf and regularly walk the coast path. To be involved in linking two amazing and contrasting waterfront locations with a piece of bold contemporary design was always going to be right up our street. We designed the stair to emulate some of the excitement and surprise of traveling along the South West Coast path. The journey is very different depending on which way you approach the staircase. From the Yard, the stair is a dark solid mass, snug against the historic retaining wall, and the journey, hidden by the high solid sides, is only apparent as you begin to climb the stair, with the concealed glass viewing platform and panoramic views over the Tamar Estuary across to Cornwall being concealed until the last moment. From the park above, you first have to find the entrance, housed within a sunken ruin of an old military store. A steel ‘portal’ is cut through the huge wall marking the start of the journey, and the view opens up as you descend down the cantilevered upper flight. At night it changes again, using concealed LED ribbon lights beneath the handrail to wash the entire inner surfaces with an ever changing river of colour, a bit of fun, and brightness in the otherwise hard context of the old military site, and reminiscent of seaside promenades across the country.
