Barnards Farm Sitooterie
Barnards Farm, Essex, UK
The National Malus (crab-apple) Collection commissioned the studio to design a permanent pavilion to sit within their grounds.
The structure is a cube, 2.4m in each dimension, punctured by over 5000, 18mm square hollow aluminium staves that act as miniature windows with tiny glazed ends, The staves form the structure and texture of the building and suspend the cube 1m above the ground.
The cube was precision-machined, by an aerospace company, from 15mm anodised aluminium and bonded together using special high-strength adhesive. The aluminium staves are arranged radially, the origin point being the centre of the cube. A single light source located at this central point emits light at night through every tube, causing the windows to glow. Seating is created by elements that extend into the cube to support a machined aluminium surface.
The name “Sitooterie” is a Scottish term for a small building to literally “sit oot” in.