Publisher's Synopsis
A Forest Laboratory is a set of four publications that address the AA's woodland campus at Hooke Park in Dorset, UK and present the research of the Wood Lab, an AA Residence group based there.
The first book in the series introduces the forest, the site and its history, drawing on the Hooke Park archive alongside recollections by John Makepeace, who founded the campus as Director of the Parnham Trust (1982-2001). This is followed by three case study publications, each focusing on one of the first three buildings to be constructed at Hooke Park under Makepeace's stewardship, using the products of forestry activity on the site: the Prototype House, the Workshop and Westminster Hall. These case studies bring together archival records, oral histories and contemporary research to document how the buildings developed in direct response to the conditions and products of their woodland context. The series highlights the buildings' significance as experiments in the sustainable use of timber to drive innovative strategies within architecture and forestry. Set of four book set sold together.
