“This experience would be useful for all student year groups and practitioners who have to be reminded what architecture actually is!”Ruairidh Moir, Architecture student at the University of Strathclyde & Tog 2012 Participant

IntroductionTog is a Gaelic word meaning many things in varying contexts. It can be used to describe hoisting the sails of a boat (tog na siùil), the way the weather will improve (togaidh an latha) or to sing a song (tog fonn).It also means to build, raise, educate and excite. This was the ambition of Tog 2012; a new live-build summer school.

Tog was conceived by a team of recent Scottish architecture and engineering graduates as a means to address the gaps they believe are missing from conventional education. The emphasis is on teaching practical building skills and collaborative teamwork on real projects in beautiful locations.

The inaugural Tog live-build summer school was hosted on the Isle of Tiree, in June 2012, and was open to anyone with a passion for the craft of building; students, architects, engineers, trade apprentices and members of the local community.

This exhibition tells the story of the building process and the finished ‘lighthouse’ which resulted from a tiring, but rewarding, week learning how to tog.

togDesignThe site of the build was the base which Alan Stevenson used to construct his Skerryvore Lighthouse, 11 miles south west of Tiree.In acknowledgement of this, Tog 2012 built its own temporary wooden ‘lighthouse’ which would act as a beacon for the ambitions of the new summer school.

The structure was designed around standard lengths of Scottish timber (C16 Sitka Spruce) with two main frames tied together by cross-beams and internal platforms. These platforms were built sequentially from bottom to top, negating the need for scaffolding and limiting the amount of work done on ladders. Intermediate steps were added between platforms to break up the change in level and create a helical ascent to the top; imagined as a spiral staircase rising to the top of the lighthouse.

Excessive foundations were minimised with each post sitting on a paving slab. Ground anchors fixed around the perimeter of the base helped keep the structure in place. Once secure, the structure was clad with vertical timber fins, with concealed fixings from the inside, to make the finished lighthouse appear taller and thinner.

ThanksTog 2012 wouldn’t have happened without the assistance, inspiration and enthusiasm offered by many, including:Architecture + Design Scotland • BSW Timber Group • Clare Jones + John Holliday • Duncan Roberts • Eric + May Cox • The Hebridean Trust • The Hynish Centre staff • I A MacKinnon Haulage • Ian Tainsh • John MacKinnon Builders • Jó Murphy • Jenny McKay + Simon Frith • Kevan Brown Ltd • MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects / Ghost Lab • Mark Vale • Martin Glegg + Zoe Tennant • Roots Design Workshop • Spirafix Ground Anchors

“Really proud to have seen you deliver this, hopefully the first of many.”Bruce Newlands, Kraft Architecture, Founder of MAKLab & Tog 2012 Participant

“Guidance on site was good and hands-off enough for people to make their own decisions on how to resolve things or learn techniques.”Kathy Li, Studio Tutor / Lecturer at the MacKintosh School of Architecture & Tog 2012 Participant

“It was nice taking on the role of the builder, being given instructions having not designed any part of it.”Neil Boyd, Cameron Webster Architects & Tog 2012 Participant

ContactTog 2012 was organised byChris Hall (Roots Design Workshop), Lynne Cox (Saltire Foundation Fellow), Richard Campbell (Fairhurst) and Micheal Holliday (Roots Design Workshop) with invaluable support from Duncan Roberts.

If you’d like to know more about Tog, the 2012 ‘lighthouse’ project or future live-build summer schools then contact:www.togstudio.co.ukinfo@togstudio.co.uk

Photographs by Tog Team and Participants.Film by www.martinglegg.com (Running time 12.20)