Barcadere wins annual construction design award
(CNS): The Barcadere Marina in George Town was the winner of this year’s Governor’s Award for Design and Construction Excellence and also won the special award for sustainability. Designed inside and out by local architectural firm Chalmers Gibbs and owned by The Barcadere Ltd, the new marina sits on a site where the oldest documented landing dock in the George Town area appeared on maps in the early 1700s. It eventually became known for its sea turtle pens, or “turtle crawls”, where schooners would deliver their catch. Today, it is home to a modern, mixed-use, environmentally friendly marina, which won the award from a shortlist that included Kirk Harbour Centre in George Town and the West Bay Office Building.
The other six nominations were: Appleby Tower, George Town; the George Town Library; Mayfair House, Britannia Estates; 94 Solaris Building, Camana Bay; Willow House, Cricket Square, George Town; and Spanish Colonial Revival House, Yacht Club.
Norman Bodden, Jim Scott and Natalie Urquhart sat on the judges panel with Gary Benham of the Governor’s Office; Jacqueline Bleicher, the president of the Cayman Society of Architects, Surveyors & Engineers; and Heber Arch, the president of the Cayman Contractors Association.
With Chalmers Gibbs as the architects, the general contractor for the fuel station, changing rooms and Scot Marine Building was Arch and Godfrey (Cayman) Ltd, while Phoenix Construction built the George Town Yacht Club and the swimming pool.
Announcing the winner at a special dinner at Government House Thursday evening, Governor Duncan Taylor said the winner had emerged as the stand out entry from a very strong field.
“The Marina offers a new world class, sustainable facility which offers a fabulous Caymanian experience for residents and visitors alike,” Taylor said. “I was impressed with the way that sustainability was built in to the design briefs for all of this year’s entries. The Marina project has an impressive and innovative approach to sustainability.”
The Barcadere covers 20 acres around an existing marina on the Southwestern shore of Grand Cayman’s North Sound. The marina first opened in 2009 but it is only recently that it began to take shape as a fully developed facility with the opening of the George Town Yacht Club, restaurant, and bar in February this year. This also includes a dip pool and “beach” area along with a private members lounge upstairs, with stunning views out over the North Sound.
The term "barcadere" has been used by Caymanians for centuries and is an adaptation of the French “débarcadère” meaning a “landing place” for boats and the Spanish words “embarcadero” or “embarcado” meaning “a place to from which to embark or disembark on a nautical voyage.
Barcaderes, or landing places, were once all around the coast to facilitate the launching and retrieval of vessels with relative ease as the islands seafaring industry developed. The term eventually fell into disuse, as did most of the sites over the years, but at one time or another every single district had at least one.
The site of the new development was also Grand Cayman’s first airport when the Converted navy PBY “Catalina” seaplanes would land on the water and tiny skiffs would collect the passengers from the seaplane’s anchorage.
Category: Local News
So Very Proud to see Caymanians making a difference and investing in out home!! Also the fact the they are BRAKAS makes me smile even more!! 🙂
Well done to Neville and the Scott family after year's of hard work and much investment. The Cayman Islands should be very grateful indeed to have people willing to invest so much time, effort and money on this island and to take such risk. People may remember when this was started, cayman / world economy was in a very different place, yet you saw it through.
Fantastic, world class facility. You could have developed yet another strip mall on seven mile beach road but you choose to do something different.
The curry is the best on the island.
So good to see local Architects and builders entrusted with a large project , by a local developer.
Perhaps an example for others to follow….well done all concerned.
How come Bayshore Mall keep gettin put up for this every year?
And how come Mr. Arch can sit and judge nominations that involve his own companies?
Anyhow Neville done a real good job and Barcadere deserve to win!
If I recall Bayshore was only put up once before and it deserved a short listing. It is almost 10 years old now and still looks great. It provided public open space long before Camana Bay was built and I think it's cool how they took the museum building and made it modern instead of just putting up some 5 storey building there. As for mr. Arch….in cayman it's hard not to have either Arch & Godfrey or McAlpine be involved in any real architecture here….perils of a small island….knowing the man however I am sure it did not play a part in any decision the 10 judges made.
Bayshore was designed by overseas Architects as was Camana Bay…
The front entrance looks like the Masonic Square and Compass to me!
Looks typical 18thC Georgian to me.
Most expensive teeny tiny marina on earth. Better get some basketball players to bring their rides.
It's a great facility built and owned by CAYMANIANS.Not only Dart can build places like this.Congratulations to the Scott's family.Award well deserved
Dart is Caymanian too.
Excessively expensive, no interest in the ordinary person and don't bother to call back.
Together with Harbour House Marine they monopolize the market with haul out rates 4 times that of comparable yards in Florida.
They have made yachting something only for the rich and famous.
One advatange of places like this is that people like you stay away from it.
This is about as meaningless as the MBE's awarded to civil and public servants for longevity. Who really cares about this stuff? Its hardly any achievement to make a pretty building now is it? After all, these days its just money talking.
Where exactly is the Barcadere???
muppet.
There is not a single muppet involved in this project and for you to think so, shows how little you know about the people involved in The Barcadere. The people involved have put in blood, sweat & tears over the years. The passion involved is tangible.
Don't understand muppet comment, someone please explain…?…thank you.
at 13:36 –
Smith Cove, South Church St front ALTe's home
No… that's Smith's Barcadere, more commonly known as Smith Cove.
This building/marina "The Barcadere" is on the North Sound down behind the airport and industrial park.
you mean the ghetto, concrete jungle, CUC turf, hot industrial park???!!!
Well Deserved – Congrats!