University for the Creative Arts
2020
Placed on the old railway tracks within the Hambrook Marshes in Canterbury, Michael Fish frantically assesses an impending storm, putting his full trust in analogue processes of weather recording instead of satellite data. He prepares for a visible warning to be broadcast to alert people nearby of the oncoming storm.
This narrative arose from research into the Great Storm of 1987, when weatherman Michael Fish wrongly predicted that there would be no storm to hit England, ignoring the data he had been presented with. It is imagined that the retired Michael Fish stays true to only his own prediction and opinions, and therefore analyses the weather himself within this outpost.
The shape of the structure was influenced by research into the formation of clouds, in particular ‘Cirrus’ clouds. This type of cloud formation occurs when water vapour in the air undergoes deposition into ice crystals. Hexagonal in shape, these ice crystals refract the sunlight which then forms a mysterious halo of light in the sky. These are called ‘Sundogs’. It is believed that Cirrus clouds are a sign of a storm on the horizon. A ring can be seen encircling the structure, with an electric light in the centre. This ring contains equal pieces of hexagonally cut glass. When the light is turned on, the light should be refracted by the glass, producing a blurred halo effect. This will be the warning of an oncoming storm.
Within the weather station, various lo-tech components aid the weatherman in analysing the atmospheric conditions. Glass orbs act as Goethe Barometer’s measuring the air pressure. Louvred exterior tiles enable ventilation through the Outpost so temperature can be measured. The exterior face of the tile is copper to visualise weathering and the interior face is ceramic to measure the humidity through condensation.