Welham Studios
landhouse 2.

Title: Welham Studios
landhouse 2.

Location: Somerset, UK

Client: development - landhouse

Date: 2009 - 2019

The roots and form of Welham Studios lie in earlier land‑based work and in research developed through collaboration with the Swinomish Tribal People of Fidalgo Island, Washington State. A visit to the Swinomish Reservation and discussions with Ray Williams informed an investigation into the placement of built form within landscape, and the integration of architecture as a continuation of ground rather than as a separate object.

Welham Studios was conceived as a flexible, collaborative studio space for Landhouse, combined with living accommodation. The project provided an opportunity to develop ideas tested through the Swinomish work — both in terms of construction methods and in understanding how a house might sit as part of the landscape. The building represents the largest of three sizes developed through this research.

The site is rural and lies on the edge of a flood plain at the margin of the Somerset Levels. To the south, the River Cary runs along the site boundary, while to the north an escarpment rises sharply, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The building is embedded within this condition, reading as part of the land rather than an imposition upon it.

The form of the building is anchored by two triangular wings that ground the structure into the site. Their geometry recalls the way sand or snow accumulates against a vertical surface, allowing the building to appear formed by natural processes rather than assembled as an object. The studio work extends this logic, exploring how shape can evolve through interaction with landscape and environmental forces.

The primary structure is a modular system constructed from structurally insulated panels. Externally, the building is clad in thermoformed three‑strand plywood panels. The roof is constructed with a single‑ply membrane incorporating an integrated root barrier, above which sits an irrigation layer and a 100mm substrate, finished with a meadow roof. Together, these elements reinforce the building’s relationship to landscape, ecology, and long‑term inhabitation.