EAST QUAY WATCHET Accommodation Pods
A short film by Lily Taylor Phillips describing the accommodation pods at East Quay, Watchet. East Quay was designed by Invisible Studio with Ellis Williams Architects for the Onion Collective CIC – a local female-led, not-for-profit social enterprise. It provides a new cultural anchor for the town and the surrounding area, featuring two contemporary art galleries, 11 artist studios, a paper mill, a geology workshop, print studio, restaurant, education space and five accommodation pods arranged across the top of the building. The centre draws inspiration from both the built environment and the natural landscape. A solid plinth reflects the harbour wall and nearby cliffs, containing the reception, gallery space, restaurant and artists’ studios. External stairs lead up to the upper level which connects directly to coastal paths, allowing East Quay to become a porous object that can be climbed, traversed and explored. The ground-floor restaurant opens out onto a new public space where local people and visitors alike can sit and enjoy views back into town, as well as the boats in the marina and the sea beyond. A series of characterful and idiosyncratic structures sit above the base, referencing the eclectic and often unusual buildings within Watchet. These are clad in simple robust materials as a nod to the industrial nature of the harbour and the activity it contains. The larger elements contain workshops for makers and artists. Five pods have been created, two of which stand on stilts above the building, that can be booked by adventurous travelers, providing an unusual form of tourism for the area. The interiors designed by architect-makers PEARCE+Faegan, each reflect Watchet in some way; including an Object Exchange pod, Stories and Imagination pod, a Luxury Industrial pod, a Playful pod and a Participatory Art Pod. East Quay will also run year-round events, offering music, theatre performances, art workshops, courses and film nights to keep you entertained during your time in Watchet.