SHED NUMBER ONE

The shed in my nan’s garden had fallen into disrepair. As the one that looks after this space, I was going to have to replace it. Fortunately, this coincided with the final year of my architecture masters. So, I decided that it would be good to use this shed build project as a graduation thesis.

The theme leading the project was my interest in ways that performance art can influence the design and building of architecture. I decided to avoid the context, exploring forms and construction techniques away from site. With screws, a screwdriver, and ten 2x4s, attached to my bike, I would travel into the woods, at which point I would perform 1:1 improvisational building sessions. Resolving elements of the design, influenced by my constraints (working alone, constructing, and deconstructing repetitively, with limited tools and materials).

I moved to site without an absolute design drawn, instead I had embodied knowledge, a research document, resolved architectural fragments, and a rough budget. The experimental timber framing techniques and elements gave me flexibility to respond to the site, in the moment of construction. Due to the repetitive nature of my design development, I could easily experiment with designs at scale in situ.

The outcome shows signs of the techniques used, along with elements scavenged from the previous shed.  Ultimately however, this shed explores architectural methodologies with an intent closely linked to performance art. Creating architecture which is attuned to the body, employing improvisational techniques, engaging with ideas of architectural permanence, and giving greater significance to the process of creating.