The central aim of the proposal is to celebrate and preserve the existing landscape and local forestry. A crucial factor throughout the design process was to ensure that not a single tree should be demolished in this proposal.

Instead, the form of the building establishes informal courtyards around the trees, spaces for conviviality, learning and gathering. These deliberate clusters become places to experience and appreciate nature. This sustainable approach to the local landscape is integral to the building’s architectural identity and experiential ambition. Split into three distinct phases, the proposal continues from and enhances the existing construction on the site, establishing a geometric dialogue and a path between the existing building and the trees.

The buildings weave within the site’s landscape as three staggered forms which wrap around the trees, one building for each of the three phases. These buildings needed to be easy to build and understand, which is why they are modular and have consistent dimensions and structural components. The massing gives the illusion of a fluid form weaving through the landscape while also being easy to build and understand. There is deliberately only one path through the entire building. The aim is to create social spaces for impromptu gathering, learning and socialising, all while being surrounded and shaded by the natural landscape. The trees and corrugated steel roof extend to maximise shading, making the exterior spaces comfortable and functional in keeping with the sustainable approach of the scheme.

The materials are predominantly adobe brick, timber, and corrugated steel. The adobe brick walls help to anchor and brace the lighter timber elements, giving them additional rigidity and minimising the need for bracing and additional material. The interior spaces have windows and perforations designed to facilitate natural cross-ventilation. All three materials work together to give the illusion of this sweeping, light and continuous roof that elevates itself throughout the landscape.

In conclusion, the scheme aims to empower those visiting it through a focused commitment to creating a building that connects to nature whilst als