Intertidal Exchange is an international exchange programme that brings together UK artist Andrew Merritt and Thai architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol to share their ongoing research into how informal architecture, sustainable building practices, and community action can respond to climate change.
Andrew’s current project with Cement Fields, Intertidal Allotment, is creating a functional artwork and world-first shoreline community allotment on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Taking inspiration from the traditional allotment form, the project expands it into the intertidal zone – the area of the seashore that is covered at high tide and uncovered at low tide, where tidal movements create a unique belt of biodiversity. Both a functional artwork and a co-created community asset, Intertidal Allotment aims to create a modular and sustainable system that responds to the needs of local people and which is replicable in other locations.
Chatpong has developed the concept of ‘bastard architecture’ – a form of vernacular architecture born of necessity – exemplified in his project Angsila Oyster Scaffolding Pavilion in Chonburi province, Thailand – a project that literally builds upon the traditional bamboo scaffolding used for oyster cultivation to create a new community-owned meeting space in the intertidal zone. Meanwhile, Chatpong’s ongoing 3-year Growing a New Rurbanism project (supported by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture) is exploring new ways of developing Thailand’s rural and coastal areas through new economies linked to local ecology, industry, and craft.
Through reciprocal residencies in the UK and Thailand, Andrew and Chatpong will come together to share their work, discussing their process, learnings and outcomes. Exploring the parallels between their projects, they will share approaches to embracing vernacular styles, using locally available materials, and nurturing social enterprise.
At its heart, Intertidal Exchange seeks to understand how new forms of architectural intervention can facilitate climate action and create replicable models which might be utilised in a variety of places and contexts around the world.
Intertidal Exchange is supported by the British Council through their Connections Through Culture grants programme.