The Dunbar Battery

This practice-led research output is a new public gathering and performance space within the Category B Listed Lamer Island Battery in Dunbar. The civil defensive bastion was built in 1781. The new battery design exploits the site’s palimpsest, using the layers of history to inform and guide the design and distribution of various contemporary interventions. The project demonstrated how a crossdisciplinary approach to design in the public realm under the leadership of regeneration landscape architects can impact positively on communities locally and further afield. As a work of conservation, adaption and renewal, the project provides a model for the radical reinvention of coastal ruins and the greater understanding and dissemination of Scottish coastal history. A process of archaeological investigation preceded and informed the design work at each stage. A responsive and sympathetic approach was taken to the discovery of further elements of historic interest as they were uncovered during the course of construction. The most significant new structure, the amphitheatre, is integrated into the void formed by the walls of the former hospital building so as to leave the trace of the hospital untouched. Community engagement was continuous over the course of the project with a dedicated website set up to gather views and inform local residents of progress. Since its completion in spring 2017 the battery has hosted numerous musical concerts, private functions, performances, and a Christmas carol service. The space continues to be maintained by local people including those who care for the coastal garden. In addition to its increasing use by local people the new battery plays an important role in attracting visitors to the town from further afield. The project has been published in a number of journals and websites internationally and has received a number of national design awards.