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Architects: IDK
- Area: 240 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Toby Coulson
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Lead Architect: Roddy Bow
Text description provided by the architects. The building is part of a rural community development in South Devon which looks to add some missing pieces to the area’s social and economic life.
It sits amongst a two-acre plot that has space for skateboarding, small-scale farming, and play areas, hosting a cafe, event space, ceramics studio, and surfboard shaping workshop. Derived from an existing dilapidated structure, it was built by a local agricultural construction company, with a client-led self-build for the internal spaces.
Sited in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where near-barren arable monocultures are often preferred over mixed-use regenerative practices, the project serves as a case study for new forms of hyperlocal, sustainable rural development. IDK and the Outside client team completed extensive consultation, generating over 500 individual letters of support and the project also raised £60,000 from 300 individual donors through crowdfunding for the skate bowl designed by Betongpark and built by Opus skateparks.
The project ethos sought to deliver maximum impact through minimum means and an approach that celebrated and supported local supply chains throughout the design and procurement of the project. Outside has begun a program of events and workshops which promote skill sharing, well-being, and inclusivity: from girl/nonbinary skate clubs, graffiti workshops, swap/mending shops, and ceramic/mosaic classes to film screenings and farm tours.
On a daily basis, the cafe, workshops and wider site are open, bringing people together and providing the economic sustainability of the project itself. The mixed-use site looks to encourage cross-pollination of individuals and groups with a restored natural ecology; fostering shared and intersectional learning experiences on the way. As the network grows Outside has the capacity to evolve and adapt in the image of the local and wider community in which it looks to engage. The project was recently shortlisted for the RIBAJ MacEwen Award 2023.
