Hampstead Heath’s landscape is shaped by its surprising geological layers and water flows. Although 15% of London sits on a floodplain, the city’s ongoing problem of general water scarcity is contradicted at times by an overabundance in the wrong places. Worries about drought accompany those of flooding. Anticipating future climate change, London’s hydrological cycle will play a greater role in determining the intensity of global warming.

When examining Hampstead Heath, there are many unknown factors in terms of what, when and how things will change in scale and severity. This project, which is placed between two of the Heath’s main ponds, seeks to monitor the rate of these changes. It carries out adjustments to mitigate problems and dramatises the architecture through the unpredictable performance of the landscape.

The Heath has been altered dramatically by humans over the centuries through the extraction of earth and redirection of water, creating the picturesque topography enjoyed today. Hence the building’s purpose as a meteorological centre also taps into what are called 'the technologies of the picturesque’. By framing environmental changes in a way similar to the depiction of weather in picturesque paintings, a different and more dynamic future beckons for Hampstead Heath.