British designer Heatherwick Studio has completed eight low-cost units for arts businesses at Aberystwyth Arts Center in Wales.

Opening yesterday, the architectural commission will provide much needed studio and workshop space for arts organizations in Wales.

Striking in design the simple timber‐frame buildings are clad with a bespoke crinkled stainless steel system that creates a shimmering futuristic appearance, reflecting the greenery of the site. The special cladding system was fabricated on site using a contraption similar to a Victorian mangle that deformed the steel into its irregular form.

The studios sit within woodland, and over time will blend further into the maturing landscape around them.

From the architects:

‘Heatherwick Studio won a competition to design low-cost facilities for sixteen start-up arts enterprises for Aberystwyth Arts Center, part of the University of Wales Aberystwyth.

Reluctant to dilute the wooded character of the site by superimposing a single campus-style block, the studio chose instead to set eight smaller buildings among the trees. These consist of simple timber frame sheds, split down their center and pulled apart to provide light and ventilation and a shared entrance area.

The studio developed a special cladding system for the buildings. As stainless steel is everlasting but expensive, the studio sourced steel the thickness of cooking foil. This makes it affordable, but it crinkles easily, providing neither structural rigidity nor insulation. These problems are overcome by crinkling it in a controlled manner before spraying a CFC-free insulation foam on the back of the crinkled surface. The paneling is affordable, rigid and well insulated; it accommodates details like eaves and windowsills and has a non- uniformity, reflecting the forest’s leaves and pieces of sky in its facets.’

Construction began in 2007.

From the Arts Center’s press release:

(…) ‘New
 Creative 
Landmark 
for 
Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth
 Arts
 Center
 is
 today
 celebrating
 the
 launch
 of
 an
 extraordinary
 architectural
 commission
 that
 will
 provide
 much
 needed
 studio
 and
 workshop
 space
 for
 arts
 organizations
 in
 Wales.

The
 eight
 new
 Creative
 Units,
 designed
 and
 built
 by
 Heatherwick
 Studio
 ‐
 one
 of
 the
 UK’s
 most
 creative
 design
 practices
 –
 have
 already
 established
 themselves
 as
 new
 landmarks
 for
 Aberystwyth
 and
 go
 to
 further
 enhance
 the
 Art
 Centre’s
 reputation
 as
 one
 of
 the
 leading
 venues
 for
 contemporary 
arts 
and 
culture 
in 
the
 UK.

The
 design
 is
 both
 striking
 and
 considerate
 to
 its
 setting.
 
 The
 simple
 timber‐frame
 buildings
 are
 clad
 with
 a
 bespoke
 crinkled
 stainless
 steel
 system
 that
 creates
 a
 shimmering
 futuristic
 appearance,
 reflecting
 the
 greenery
 of
 their
 site.
 
 Unusually,
 their
 construction
 as
 well
 as
 their
 design
 was
 led
 by
 Heatherwick
 Studio
 whose
 specialist
 team
 worked
 on
 site
 with
 local
 sub‐contractors
 to
 deliver
 the
 project.

 The
 special
 cladding
 system
 was
 fabricated
 on
 site
 using
 a
 contraption
 akin
 to
 a
 Victorian
 mangle
 that
 deformed
 the
 steel
 into
 its
 irregular
 form.
 The
 studios
 sit
 within
 woodland,
 and
 over
 time 
will 
blend
 further 
into 
the 
maturing 
landscape
 around 
them.

All
 sixteen
 studio
 spaces
 have
 been
 let,
 with
 tenants
 including
 internationally‐renowned
 painter
 Mary
 Lloyd
 Jones
 and
 Creu
 Cymru
 ‐
 the
 National
 Development
 Agency
 for
 Theaters
 and
 Arts
 Centers
 in
Wales.’ (…)