A heritage landscape and scheduled monument, conservation and re-use project with a significant new build element, Command of the Oceans unlocks the potential of unique historic buildings at The Historic Dockyard Chatham allowing them to be used as 21st century visitor facilities and galleries. The project enables the story of the most complete dockyard of the age of sail to be fully told for the first time. Works comprise the preservation, display and interpretation of the Namur, ‘the ship beneath the floor’ uncovered by chance in 1995; the preservation of mast-making monuments: the Mast House and Mould Loft, the mast ponds and their related external landscape; initial orientation of Chatham’s wider naval and military heritage; the creation of orientation and interpretation galleries; and the resolution of visitor welcome and hospitality services. Made possible with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and generous support from the Homes and Communities Agency, individuals, trusts and foundations, the project was completed and opened to the public in May 2016. The project was awarded RIBA South East Regional Award 2017, RIBA South East Conservation Award 2017, RIBA South East Building of the Year 2017, RIBA National Award and the RIBA Stirling Prize Shortlist 2017. Other awards include: Kent Design and Development Awards (Conservation Award) 2017. It was a Regional Finalist for the Civic Trust Awards in 2016 (Conservation Category). ? “A masterclass in how to intervene in a listed structure.” Oliver Wainwright for the Guardian “A champion for progressive conservation, inventive re-use and adaptation of existing fabric.” ?RIBA Awards Jury “Huge credit goes to the architects and other professional team members who have created an extraordinary solution to some intractable heritage challenges and created facilities that replicate the quality of the heritage itself and the stories embedded in it.” Bill Ferris OBE DL, CEO at The Historic Dockyard Chatham “Not every worthy project needs to be colossal.” Jonathan Morrison, The ten best buildings of 2017, The Times, 22 December 2017 “Collectively we have been able to deliver what we may call ‘total media’, of which architecture is a fundamental part. On behalf of our client our task has been to present a compelling and coherent experience for the broadest profile of visitors in the most powerful way. We believe that the integrated process described above has enabled us to do this and may well present a creative methodology to be adopted by other museum makers in the future.” Peter Higgins, Land Design?