British architecture firm Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios have commissioned four of their graduate students to design mobile artists’ residences titled ‘The Observatory’. Installed on the chalk hills of South Downs, the residences are built on portable foundations and are set to visit three other locations over the next two years. The first two are called the ‘Study’ and ‘Workshop’. The project combines architecture, art and lanscape through functionality and design. Two small timber structures – that are designed to fit a flat-bed truck – sit on prefabricated pivoting bases that allow the residents to create their own view, while also determining the relationship to one another based on their orientation. The residences are built with sustainable materials, such as locally grown and harvested Siberian larch and Shou Sugi Ban that is used to create a naturally protected exterior cladding. On the inside we find durable and virtually maintenance-less Accoya wood. Each structure is also designed to produce or harness energy: the ‘Study’ produces and stores electricity by use of a solar roof panel while the ‘Workshop’ stores rainwater for consumption and cleaning the artists’ supplies.

Images: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios