‘We are building a beach hut’ is a new project to research, design and make a prototype beach hut for West Bay, with people. The goal of the project is to open-up the design and development process, and share learning in our community about how people can make change happen at a local level.
We know from working on projects in communities, that development processes, particularly those involving spaces and buildings, can be long and frustrating and full of unexpected costs and challenges. By starting with a beach hut, and documenting the development process, we want to share our learning and talk honestly about the challenges of bringing about change in this context.
The ‘We are building a beach hut’ project is developed in partnership with the Dunoon Area Alliance, Dunoon Conservation and Regeneration Scheme and the POP Shop collective – a multidisciplinary design team based in Dunoon. The project is being co-ordinated by Tacit Tacit, and will use the POP shop as a design and workshop space.
The project is funded by Culture, Heritage and Arts Assembly, Argyll and Isles (CHARTS) as part of their Evolve Arts and Tourism programme, with in-kind support from project partners.
The project is split into three key stages: Research, Design and Making. The research phase of the project will run throughout October – November 2021.
Research activities will be done using a variety of methods, from site visits, walks, desk based research, interviews, photography. We will be collating data on a West Bay Green Map, which is a locally focused map featuring information about social, cultural and environmental assets – from heritage to biodiversity.
In this phase of the project we will be exploring:
How people use West Bay for walking, swimming and recreation and what function a beach hut could have.
The cultural history of beach huts and West Bay.
Water quality and beach biodiversity.
Climate change and how rising sea levels and changes to the weather will effect West Bay now and the idea of a beach hut.
Beach hut design, ownership, building regulations and planning permission.
Founder of Green Map system Wendy Brawer, members of the GIS collective and Green MSP Ariane Burgess will also be popping into Dunoon to help us with research.
On Friday 29th October from 2pm, Wendy and Ariane will be part of a Dunoon delegation making a visit to Glenan Wood, a Scottish, native rainforest followed by a stop off at the Ark in Tighnabruaich, a timber structure made by local creative David Blair to draw attention to COP 26 and the need for climate action.
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On Saturday at 11am Wendy and Ariane will be helping us debunk some of the information around sea level rise on West Bay, by locating an RIAS Traveling Sea level markers on the shore. Find out more here>
You can also contribute stories, images and your thoughts to the project or take a walk or swim with a member of our team to share your thoughts on how a beach hut could be used.
If you are interested in finding out more contact hannah@tacit-tacit.co.uk
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