Welham Studios
started with the study of placement, watching objects in clay and sand creating
shapes through the interaction of the wind and rain. The work is looking for a union of object and environment.
One aspect of the
work developed into the basic forms using triangulation, and this work
Was the basis of
a project with the Swinomish Tribal people of FidalgoIslandWashingtonState,
The Swinomish
housing project which has become Known as Landhouse www.landhouse.co.uk started in 2006 It
was a visit to my studio by a couple who lived in Seattle. They became interested in the work
being done, its physical relationship with the ground and how it translated
into a building.
The Pennock?s saw
an opportunity to connect myself with an Architect friend of there's, Art
Peterson of Cedar Tree Architects in Seattle, who had been working with Ray
Williams of the Swinomish Tribal People of Fidalgo Island Washington State,
they had just completed the building of a Traditional long House.
They had been
discussing the current housing situation on FidalgoIsland
which is a long way from the beliefs and traditions of the Swinomish and bore
no resemblance to their surroundings. The houses are currently designed and
placed regardless of the Landscape and their Traditions.
A meeting was
organized and out of it came the idea to develop an environmentally sensitive scheme
for an allocated development area and Landhouse was born. The structures were
refined and developed into module units comprising of Elder, Student, Single
family, Vacation, Multifamily and community facilities.
I came back to
the UK
and decided to build one which is now almost completed and due to be opened in
the spring of next year. This has become Welham Studios that my wife Artist
Lucy Glendinning www.lucyglendinning.com and I work
from.
The building is constructed
in structurally insulated panels using the factory in Seattle that was involved in the Swinomish project;
this was to be a test for the modular units.
We used
thermoform 3ply cladding that came in 5m by 2m sheets. The roof is a EPDM
membrane with a inbuilt root barrier, a 100mm substrate with a wild flower
turf.