WikiHouse SKYLARK Launch Event
Architecture Unknown
March 2022
Article
Skylark Launch Event
It was with great pleasure that the AU team were invited to attend the recent launch event of the new updated Wikihouse building system, Skylark at the Building Centre in London.
It's not very often that we get the chance to venture south, especially in these Covid times, so we jumped at the chance and the whole team hopped on a train for a big day out in London.
The launch event was pencilled in for 6pm, however, the WikiHouse foundation and the team at Open Systems Lab were building their excellent protype in the late morning, giving us the chance to experience its assembly first hand, and pitch in where we can. We can safely say this didn't take too long and the team of volunteers had it assmebled in no time. This allowed us to sneak off and be wandering northerners in the big smoke. We explored the sites and sounds the area and then nipped into British Muesum, may be not the most architecturally relevant place we could visit but a wonderful place none the less. As always, a few books were aquired before we headed back for the party.
Clayton lays out the stats
The launch party was extremely well attended, with the upstairs space at the building centre packed out for the big reveal. Stiring speaches by Alastair, Clayton and his team ignited a fire in the crowd and our team, the wonderful canapes and free beers also helped.
But in all seriousness, this new Skylark system can be a game changer for WikiHouse. Open Systems Lab (the creators) have evolved the original system from Wren, actually this is system is based on a completely different structural approach and is accompanied by all the relevant strutural calculations required, making it far more accessible for the common person. I won't go into the details, but it is certainly worth going to the website and having a read.
It certainly is revolutionary in places but we do think it does come with some limitations. It is our view that our own branch of Wren, which we call Magpie, sits nicely, beside and complementarly to Skylark. We believe that there is a place for both systems and each systems suitablity will depend on the architectural and thus structural resolution the design seeks. This means that the AU team will bring the Skylark system into our repetioire of construction solution options, adding our expertise to the system but also continuing to develop Magpie along side Skylark.
Exciting times ahead on the WikiHouse and self build front.
