The Exbury Egg: Floating Wooden Dwelling by SPUD and PAD Studio

A living art installation to draw attention to the importance of place and rising sea levels, the Exbury Egg served as the dwelling and workspace of Stephen Turner for a year between the July 15th 2013 and July 14th 2014. The small boathouse dwelling was a collaboration between PAD Studio architects, the artist Stephen Turner, and SPUD urban design group.

Climate change is already creating new shorelines and habitats. Established salt marsh is being eroded by a combination of rising sea levels and falling landmass and the entire littoral environment is in a state of flux. . . . Raising awareness of the past and the unfolding present of a very special location will be the task, whist living in an ethical relationship with nature and treading as lightly as possible upon the land.Stephen Turner

The unique egg shape of the vessel was achieved by incorporating traditional boatbuilding joinery techniques into the Western Red Cedar cladding. Creating this rounded shell in timber was no mean feat and a complex dome segment had to be made for the tip of the egg.

The interior of the Exbury Egg features a small desk, a kitchen sink and stove, as well as a shower room. Minimal furniture and the clever arrangement of these utilities around the perimeter of the egg offers a reasonably large floor and ensures feeling of claustrophobia stay at bay.

A bed is provided in the form of a hammock which spans the length of the eggs interior. Yet this hammock can be easily stowed away when not in use during the day by simply disconnecting one of the end hooks, and takes up no space at all.

Stephen Turner’s artist’s impression of the dwelling in watercolour derived from the Western Red Cedar timber used in the Exbury Egg itself.

The light touch and basic nature of the ‘Exbury Egg’ aims to re-appraise the way we live; to properly consider sustainably and future use of natural resources. Stephen Turner is interested in exploring a more empathic relationship with nature which reveals the precious and transcendent in everyday life.SPUD Group