This project is developed through an intensive three-week interdisciplinary design process, proposes a compact, self-sustaining research observatory focused on investigating salinity levels and environmental change within the Critical Zone of Kentra Bay. Responding directly to the brief, the scheme takes the form of a low-impact, off-grid shelter with a maximum volume of 150m³, integrating research, living, and communal spaces for three occupants. Embedded within the remote coastal landscape, the observatory acts both as a place of habitation and as an instrument for continuous environmental observation.

The project was developed collaboratively by third-year architecture students from the Mackintosh School of Architecture alongside structural engineering and quantity surveying students from the University of the West of Scotland and Glasgow Caledonian University. Combining environmental, structural, and economic considerations within a unified design approach, the proposal responds sensitively to the site while minimising ecological disturbance. Anchor foundations lightly touch the landscape, reducing excavation and protecting the fragile coastal terrain. Cost transparency remained central throughout the project, with quantity surveyors identifying a 24% increase from initial estimates, justified through improved durability, reduced maintenance, and stronger long-term performance.

Our design proposal envisions a salinity and water-quality monitoring observatory embedded within the shifting coastal landscape of Kentra Bay. The scheme separates calm, dry residential spaces from wet operational zones used for research and equipment storage. A series of exposed steel platforms weave through the site, forming elevated pathways that connect the observatory to the shoreline and changing tides. Integrated lifting platforms allow both researchers and scientific equipment to move seamlessly between land and water, supporting direct engagement with the coastal environment. Rising above the structure, a wind turbine harnesses the strong and consistent coastal winds of Kentra Bay, providing a continuous source of renewable energy throughout the year.