Terracotta Cool Box – Charlotte Barker

Inshriach Bothy

Material: Slip cast terracotta
Manufacture: Prototype, Charlotte Barker’s Studio

Reflecting the cladding of Inshriach bothy, Barker has designed a corrugated ceramic cool box to keep food fresh in an off-grid environment. The idea of using terracotta to chill food and liquids was inspired by Ghanaian mud architecture. The Terracotta Cool Box is double-walled, with an internal void filled with water. The cooling process works when the porous terracotta walls absorb water, which then evaporates from the outside surface, helping to keep the pot’s internal environment cool.

Charlotte Barker is a sculptor working in clay. She has recently completed an MA at the Royal College of Art, during which she visited Ghana and Toga on a research trip investigating mud architecture as part of the Eduardo Paolozzi Scholarship. Based in Edinburgh, her practice explores form, balance and the material qualities of clay.