Lee, S.J., 2011.

The Parkkeeper's Hut

Arca were appointed by New East Manchester to develop an inventive design for an unusual brief - a new Parkkeeper's Hut in New Islington. The brief included a canal service station, with shower/washing facilities, fresh water and disposal units - and a hut for the Parkkeeper. With exemplary ecological performance, the hut was designed to combine rugged practicality with a conceptually rigorous response to its setting. Set amongst reedbeds, the timber structure has a fluid wandering footprint clad in unstained sawn larch that mimic the vertical pattern of the reeds. Insulation is provided by straw bales. Arca organised the internal spaces in a series of 'seedpods' arranged around a central social space. Toplit by a circular roof light and with a wood burning stove, this space was ringed by tree trunks, lending the whole space a raw, rustic quality.