As part of the National Gallery’s Bicentenary celebration, Triumph of Art, students from CAT’s Graduate School of the Environment brought a powerful new structure to life in the heart of London.
Gorsedd—meaning “throne” in Welsh—is a striking architectural installation designed and built by a collective of Master’s in Sustainable Architecture students, on their Build module in collaboration with artist Jeremy Deller, Mostyn Gallery in Llandudno and the National Gallery.
A Structure Rooted in Sustainability
Rooted in CAT’s ethos of hands-on, community-led sustainability, Gorsedd is more than a stage—it’s a symbol of collective action, cultural heritage, and ecological urgency. Constructed using Welsh timber, Somerset willow, Plywood supplied by ReCollective (a Materials Agency founded by graduates of CAT) and slate from CAT’s own Llwyngwern Quarry, the structure draws inspiration from Celtic stone circles, Druidic rituals, and the National Gallery’s wartime history of storing paintings securely in Manod Quarry.
This project is part of CAT’s Build Module, a unique and core component of our ARB-accredited Part II Master’s in Sustainable Architecture. The course blends design theory with practical construction, empowering students to explore low-impact materials, vernacular techniques, and community engagement.
The Build module allows students to delve into the practical aspects of implementing designs and construction through hands-on building workshops working on briefs for live clients. The structures designed and built each year on the module emphasise sustainability, minimal waste, responsible sourcing and versatility.
CAT student, Louis Parry-Jones said “One of the key elements of the Sustainable Architecture Masters at CAT, which first attracted me to the course, was the Build module. I would never have imagined that the National Gallery would approach us with such an exciting brief for the module! I have learnt so much from the design and build process that I believe will be invaluable in my future practice.”
Built by Many Hands: A Performative Construction
The build was a feat of collaboration, echoing traditional barn-raising and mast-stepping techniques. The frame raising was done entirely by hand, a very rare event these days, over Thursday and Friday ahead of the event on Saturday 26 July. Using choreographed movements, the raising was a performative expression of teamwork celebrating what can be achieved when we consider simpler ways of doing things, learning from the past, focusing on tools we already have and working together for a common purpose.
Gorsedd is the outcome of many hands working towards a shared goal. From the students, to MArch tutors Gwyn Stacey and Dieter Brandstätter, Jenny Hall, CAT graduate Simon Elliston and collaborators Momentum Engineering.
Richard Heath from Momentum Engineering, an award-winning structural and civil engineering consultancy that specialises in timber design and construction, said “We have been providing engineering support to the design of structures created during Build week for over 20 years and the Triumph of Art is one of the largest projects undertaken! We have been providing structural engineering advice on the student’s design and self-build methods of the timber structure and inspected the erected structure in Trafalgar Square prior to its use in the National Gallery Bicentenary celebrations”.
Throughout the build, students have had help from members of the CAT community and members of the local public with weaving willow using simple techniques to form the woven frames that are part of the roof of the structure.
“The support we have had from our tutors, classmates and the wider CAT community over the last year has been extraordinary; we could not have completed this project without it. The symbolism of the project is deeply rooted in our experiences at CAT and the coming together of a community.” CAT student, Anna Karien-Drost
A Legacy Beyond Trafalgar Square
The students involved in the Build Hannah Maxey, Anna Drost, Alfie Hatch, Cat San, Sam Garbett and Louis Parry-Jones have also gone on to set up Studio CLAASH, a student-led design and build collective which they will continue once they complete their studies at CAT.
And though Gorsedd’s debut is in Trafalgar Square, we hope to use it again for an event at CAT next year and hopefully at other festivals and events across the country in the future, continuing to share CAT’s message of sustainable, community-driven change and the impressive feat our student cohort has achieved during their studies.
