Hotwalls Portsmouth
Sustainable Rejuvenation
The site known collectively as Point Battery and locally as "Hotwalls”, which is Grade I Listed, is located on Broad Street between the Round Tower to the North West and the Square Tower to the South East and faces onto the Solent and the mouth of Portsmouth Harbour.
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Portsmouth City Council appointed ERMC as the Lead Designer, Quantity Surveyors and Contract Administrator for the regeneration of the 1850's artillery barracks and soldier quarters. A grant received from the Government's Coastal Communities Fund, provided the means to transform and revitalise this historic site in Old Portsmouth into a collection of 13 artist studios with proposed exhibition space in the 'Round Tower' and an adjoining eatery.
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This project has realised sustainable rejuvenation of this renowned monument, enhancing its significance and securing its future management whilst culturally enriching the local area.
History
By the end of the Second World War, the Battery was decommissioned, and local artists started the tradition of selling art from the arches at weekends. In the 1960s, the site was purchased by Portsmouth City Council. In 1969, Point Battery was Grade I listed along with the adjacent flanking battery, Sallyport and Point barracks, being recognised as of exceptional national interest.
In 2014 Portsmouth City Council, the Coastal Communities Fund and the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire provided funds to refurbish the buildings and turn them into working artists’ studios. Development of the site was completed in 2016.
Creative centre
The primary objective for this development was to provide an artist's quarter and creative centre in the vacant arches and ancillary buildings that make up Point Battery.
Focusing on the conversion and renovation of the arches themselves, each space will form a versatile working environment for its occupants and will collectively act as a gallery showcasing a variety of work and encouraging visitors to interact and engage with the artists.
Interior spaces include simple modular furniture units fitted in a non-destructive manner and affording the occupants a degree of versatility depending on their needs.
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