Design and Make Architectural Association

Overview

The landscape, being both material library and site, is critical to the design process and our experimental constructs are nested carefully into the tissue of the working forest environment at Hooke Park.

Design through making is the focus here in our woodland studio. 

The research the Design and Make programme conducts at Architectural Association demonstrates a vision for architectural education in which making (and remaking) is central to the act of design itself. 

The large-scale fabrication facilities on site provide a unique testing ground where we devote time to speculative research through the design of experimental prototypes and highly crafted full-scale architecture. 

We materialise architecture through curiosity, craft and creativity. Speculative design attitudes drive the work, and our twin catalysts for the imagination are our physical engagement with the site and the alchemy of the act of making. We thrive on the unexpected revelations brought about by each.

Our toolbox contains a diverse array of resources that facilitate design and fabrication. We use a hands-on approach, guided by an in-depth material understanding and a deep respect for tacit knowledge. At the same time, technology – such as 3D scanning, advanced modelling, robotic and CNC production – is deployed to augment traditional craft and material knowledge with the aim of striking an agile balance between the computational and the physical. 

This is a delicate blend which creates fertile conditions for innovative projects to thrive. Our forest laboratory is a space of intense investigation, a wild-wood of creativity and a home for architectural adventurers.