East Quay Watchet

opened in september 2021, east quay is home to two contemporary art galleries, 11 artist studios, a paper mill, a geology workshop, print studio, restaurant, education space and 5 extraordinary accommodation pods, all on the quayside in watchet, on somerset’s coast. run by onion collective, a female led social enterprise, east quay illustrates that when local people have the space and time to imagine collectively, the results can be fantastically creative, welcoming, ambitious and fun. it can point the way to a different future. east quay has been designed by piers taylor of invisible studio and ellis williams architects. its design intentionally reflects a contemporary version of watchet, with the heavy base reflecting the harbour wall and surrounding cliffs, with characterful and idiosyncratic ‘human sized’ buildings above reflecting the eclectic and often unusual built environment of the town. five extraordinary accommodation pods, two of which stand on stilts above the building,