For the Urban Shanty Builder, the need to address the vernacular of the immediate environment is paramount if the Shanty is to have any sense of belonging and longevity. Just as the western pioneers absorbed the atmosphere of the plains and the great forests into a sense of National Identity, so the Urban Shanty builder must incorporate the overwhelming sense of damp which pervades the British atmosphere and character.

Picture by Matt Hawthorn

Damp can best be characterised as a reticence, a longing for the in-between, (land and sea, Europe and the Americas). It’s significance is often seen best in its absence, the total panic that infuses the national psyche when the weather moves beyond damp into, cold or hot or wet.

The Damp House is therefore a nationalistic gesture, vital for the blending of the shanty town with the surrounding context. It speaks to the non-committal national character which eschews flags for more subtle invocations of identity.

Picture by Matt Hawthorn

The fabric of the structure embraces the process of condensation, the central structural element of an otherwise soft design facilitates the circulation of air and moisture, filtering any particulate matter to enable an experience of cleanliness and comfort.