Military Solar Houses

Art and Energy were commissioned to respond creatively to the Conflict and Intimacy project (more info below). We were particularly interested in exploring the domestic space, the opportunity to bring project participants together in-person, and of course we wanted to include some energy… and so we designed and developed the solar house as a participatory workshop.

Each participant had a solar house kit, including laser-cut plywood, a pre-made solar unit and a piece of mirrored film.

We provided a table heaving with inspiration and art materials including paint, oil pastels, glitter, magazines for decoupage, fabric and carpet offcuts. Participants were invited to decorate their house to represent their own experiences, aspirations and narratives. Relaxed making with our hands opened up space for conversation, with participants chatting, laughing and sharing stories relating to the research project.

At the end of the workshop participants were encouraged to take their house home, place it on a sunny windowsill, take pride in their creativity, and continue the conversation.

We held the solar house workshop in Plymouth at the Crownhill Royal Navy Family Centre. Chloe and Jenny were joined by the research team, partners and ex-partners of military personnel, and Ryan from Fotonow CIC who documented the day with these fabulous photos.

Art and Energy’s Jenny was a participant of the wider project and thoroughly enjoyed this way of combining academic research, social documentation and creativity.

This is something we would love to explore further. If you would like to run a solar house workshop with your group or community then please get in touch for more info! hello@artandenergy.org

Why a Solar House?

During the day: the exterior of the house is the focal point, the window to the interior obscured, the solar panel charges the battery.

When darkness falls: the solar unit light comes on, the privacy film becomes see-through, the interior is illuminated like a tiny stage-set!

Day

Night

What is the Conflict and Intimacy project?

This project explores military ‘conflict’ from the perspective of military partners and ex-partners, as something that happens not only in far away war zones but also in domestic and intimate spaces of the military home and personal relationships. It has used online theatre workshops in order to help us think differently about what the real lived impacts of conflict, deployment and military participation are for military families.

The project has been run by Newcastle University-based research team Dr Alice Cree and Dr Hannah West. It has been a collaboration with Workie Ticket Theatre CIC, with one of the outcomes being a play based on the research interviews and workshops. Find out more.