The Lighthouse

Tog Studio is a team of architects and engineers who design buildable projects that can be constructed by anyone, regardless of experience or skill. This empowers self-builders, students and marginalised members of society by providing a unique on-site learning experience and results in the delivery of construction projects which might not otherwise be viable in the current economic climate.

In June 2013 Tog Studio hosted a live-build summer school on the Isle of Tiree. A team of architecture and engineering students from across Scotland built a new community boathouse in just seven days.

The boathouse provides a customised workshop and storage space for the Tiree Maritime Trust, a charity formed to ensure the preservation of Tiree’s cultural heritage of building and restoring traditional wooden boats. Tog Studio had to develop a new business model to make this project happen. Local funding from a community-owned wind turbine was matched against industry sponsorship (through donated and discounted materials) and supplemented by fees from the participants.

The Boathouse is the first building to be manufactured using MAKlab equipment, featuring a CNC-routed ply box portal frame. This structural system creates a light yet strong frame which is easy to put together.

The structure was clad in untreated Siberian larch from Russwood and roofed with Marley Eternit profile 6 cement fibre sheeting. Both companies sent expert advisors to site to teach the students how to install their respective materials.

In order to make this project a reality the Tog Studio team needed to play a more active role in tasks not traditionally associated with architects; from the procurement of materials to the physical construction work. This hints at a new way of delivering architecture which Tog Studio are excited about developing.

If you’d like to know more about Tog Studio, the Boathouse project or future live-build summer schools then contact:

www.togstudio.co.uk
info@togstudio.co.uk
twitter @tog_studio