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A harbourside arts centre in Somerset has rejuvenated the local area through culture and architecture, writes Marwa El Mubark.

The countryside can be perfect territory for experimentation; a messy intersection of heterogeneity far removed from the homogenising forces of the city centre. This is even more so the case by the sea, where the historic role of ports and docks as natural points of confluence and cultural exchange creates the perfect environment from which a variety of unfiltered propositions for building might emerge. Invisible Studio’s recently completed East Quay arts centre for the Onion Collective in Watchet, Somerset, is one such example.

Like many seaside towns along the west coast, Watchet is characterised by its disparate architecture; an eclectic mix of ramshackle cottages gradually becoming more industrial as you move towards the coast. This, coupled with its peripheral position as a remote seaside town, puts it in a fragile state of being sidelined and forgotten by mainland conversation. It was this context that spurred the formation of the Onion Collective social enterprise in 2011 – a local all-female-led, not-for-profit social enterprise...Keep reading on Architect's Journal.