Challenge

This project set-out deep in the woodland in Dorset, South West England. The 142 hectare site is home to a satellite campus of the world-renowned Architectural Associate School of Architecture (AA). The AA Hooke Park campus was build primarily for short workshops where students could gain hands on experience building architectural projects at a 1:1 scale. But as the AA inaugurated a masters program in Design & Build, the site became home to 15 students who would spend 12 consecutive months in the woodland. 

Our task was to build different outdoor spaces that enhance the students’ experiences in the forest. 

Team

The project was developed in collaboration between architecture students, recent graduates and tutors with backgrounds in engineering, architecture, design and woodworking. Each team member was involved in all parts of the project, from research, to project concept, to building. I led the construction phase of the project. 

Phase 1: Inspiration

Research

We began with a full immersion into the site to understand its context, group dynamics, personal spaces, etc. As no one in the group had lived in the woods before, this was critical in understanding how students were going to feel living on-site for an extended period.

• Full Immersion: the team moved on site for 3-weeks to gain primary experience living in the Hooke Park campus. This allowed us to gather insights on how people in our demographic living in London would acclimate to their new environment.

• Expert Interviews: we interviewed the ground keeper to understand his routine, seasonal changes, frequencies of trips to the village and to the city to gain insights on available food, products and sources of entertainment.

Phase 2: Ideation

Our research led us to develop unsuspected strategies. Despite the vastness of the grounds, many of us felt like we needed more alone time where we could retreat from the group. As we would sleep, eat and work with the same group of people everyday, we felt overwhelmed by the constant company. From this came an architectural project about a tower where one person could meditate, call home, watch the stars and reflect on their own. The final design came after each of us prototyped several design options over an intensive 2-day design sprint. 

Phase 3: Implementation

We settled on a design that we built using wood cleared from the project site. We also added a climbing wall feature to the structure as the groundkeeper pointed out that there were little to no way to exercise in the colder months. We were able to erect the structure in less than a week, just in time for the 2011 academic year.