It was a pleasure to work with 11yr old Foster Carter to realise his competition-winning design for the National Trust’s ‘folly!’ 2018. The idea of capturing a cloud and tying it down has a universal appeal. Foster’s design demonstrated sophistication and a delight in both architecture and the natural world.

The competition was devised by the North Yorkshire Society of Architects and the National Trust to give children a sense of what it’s like to be an architect. We invited Foster to our facility to undertake some design development where he proved to be an astute and decisive designer, selecting colours, materials and textures in line with his concept.

The 4m Cloud folly stands in Studley Royal Park at North Yorkshire’s Fountains Abbey. Four timber posts bolted onto concrete pads tether the wispy, ethereal cloud to the ground. Sculpted polystyrene helped create the cloud shape, enabling us to make a wire skeleton onto which the Contra H Fine resin coated fibre was applied. Gently ‘floating’ beneath a steel crucifix, the cloud conceals a GRP tank that captures water over time, allowing it to slowly – and surprisingly – seep out.