MacEwen 2023 shortlist: East Quay, Watchet, Somerset

East Quay, Watchet, West Somerset
Invisible Studio for Onion Collective CIC
Contract cost £5.3 million
GIFA 1,700m²

 

This community arts centre in the Somerset coastal town of Watchet has an extensive programme. ‘It is a mixed eco system including art galleries, café, bookshop, accommodation pods etc,’ said chair of the judges, Isabelle Priest. The building is less driven by arts than by a desire for an active social enterprise, set up by local women, to create a heart in the town and a sense of hope. The centre also brings in visitors and provides space for local businesses, such as a handmade paper mill and other makers. 

Three designers worked on the project: Invisible Studio set out an ambitious and dramatic design that would deal with the potential piecemeal funding rounds, Ellis Williams oversaw the build and PEARCE + Faegan created some brilliantly inventive interiors in the pods and education room.

The building’s two arms create a sheltered courtyard on the harbour edge, a setting for many activities during the summer and a meeting place throughout the year. The pinkish concrete plinth creates a strong edge along the curve of the harbourside and is the base for the first-floor ‘street’ which links up with the coastal footpath and allows browsing in the makers’ studios. From this pop up the characterful accommodation pods. The whole building, complete with candy stripes, has a great sense of fun. 

But more important to those who set it up is the impact on the town. It has seen many tourists pass through its doors and engendered a sense among the local population that the town is going somewhere, as well as giving some of its creatives a community to be part of.

Judge Kathy MacEwen, a planner and daughter of Malcolm and Anni MacEwen, saw its potential: ‘It can be transformative in Watchet.’

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For more on MacEwen shortlisted projects and architecture for the common good see ribaj.com/MacEwen-Award