Shielin-bough is a longitudinal collaborative project led by Dr Gina Wall (PI) and Professor Timo Jokela (CoI) University of Lapland, with outputs funded by the Scottish Government, the Finnish Institute UK + Ireland, and the University of the Arctic with support from our business partner Logie Timber. The project explores inter-cultural stories of food and shelter, engaging students from GSA Highlands & Islands, Mackintosh School of Architecture and the University of Lapland in inter-disciplinary, inter-institutional learning. Shielin-bough has a number of stages: participants collaborated to undertake desk research; field work; multi-sensory workshops; symposia; and virtually enabled co-design; culminating in a student-led live build field school. During this stage of the project, participants from different disciplinary backgrounds gathered and built a shelter inspired by the Finnish laavu in the garden on the GSA H&I campus. Drawing on the spirit of community build projects, the field school focused on learning through building, using a skill share model through which the individuals in the group were able to acquire new skills from out with their own discipline. The project prioritised pedagogies of sociability, conviviality, and care, operating a flat and sometimes flipped hierarchy at key points. There was a strong emphasis on low impact solutions for building and on the basis of our business collaboration with Logie Timber, we were invited to participate at their Timber Festival to showcase the work and live build methodology. Colleagues involved in the project also gave a talk at the Timber Festival about the collaborative pedagogic innovation for Scottish Forestry. There have been numerous outputs and impacts for the project, it has appeared in print, generated educational workshops with school children, resulted a range of publications (including a Master’s thesis from a candidate at the University of Lapland) and directly inspired Fraser/Livingstone Architects to use it to model the public art strategy for the amenity space in the local Dallas Dhu housing development. The project was included by the architects as an exemplar of good practice in the planning application to Moray Council and if this is approved, GSA H&I will be a collaborator in the delivery of the outcomes for the development.

• https://radar.gsa.ac.uk/8544
• https://radar.gsa.ac.uk/9916
• https://radar.gsa.ac.uk/9917
• https://radar.gsa.ac.uk/9663
• https://radar.gsa.ac.uk/9969