Hi! My name is Elizabeth Conaghan. I am an architecture student at University of Dundee currently on a placement year out in practice. This summer, I will be taking part in an eight-week project with CAUKIN studio, a small team that work internationally with a range of collaborators to deliver their projects!

This project will see us travel to Bohol, Philippines to deliver an eight-week collaborative design-build workshop in partnership with Soft Spot, a Filipino architecture and design collective working across community-led, ecological, and craft-based projects. The workshop will focus on the design and construction of a lightweight studio canopy set within a dramatic coastal landscape. Conceived as a learning-led and research-driven build, the project prioritises hands-on design development, experimentation through making, and close collaboration with local knowledge and construction practices. The resulting structure will primarily function as a flexible workshop and studio space, with the ability to support small group stays as part of an artist residency programme.

Over the coming months, I will be fundraising to help cover the project costs and contribute directly to the delivery of the build. These funds go directly towards project materials, logistics, and locally driven, on-site construction for the development of the community studio space.

As part of this fundraising I will be training for and completing my first ever Olympic length triathlon - 1.5km swim, 40km cycle, 10km run!

I’ve never done anything like this before, so this will definitely push me outside of my comfort zone - but this feels fitting for a project that’s all about challenging and developing my architectural skills in a collaborative and meaningful way!

If you would like to support the project, any contribution, no matter the amount, would be greatly appreciated.

More information about CAUKIN Studio can be found at:

https://www.caukinstudio.com/