Daily Dose 1916

Okra

Daily Dose Monographic Images 1916 | Okra - The Apple House "Above ground the building is made almost entirely from natural materials. Large openings connect multifunctional spaces to the surrounding landscape on multiple axes, framing a woodland to the south, a vegetable garden to the east and extensive plant library to the west. A year-round community programme provides professional and public participation in horticulture and environmental stewardship, including to local schools, youth groups, mental health charities, residents and designers. An innovative spruce glulam structure, designed by engineers Structure Workshop, creates a large open volume, with generous openings connecting interior spaces to the natural landscape on all sides. The spruce portal frames are connected by birch ply sheathing, which eliminates the need for a ridge beam or purlins and expressing the individual bays of the portal frames. The hempcrete, which was cast between the frames, acts as a carbon store and creates structural stability to the structural frame as well as providing insulation. Handcrafted floors of local unfired clay, hempcrete and lime plastered walls along with cleft oak cladding create a warm and calming atmosphere. Cleft oak, which was sustainably harvested immediate to the site from overcrowded positions, was selected for the exterior cladding. The oak was cut on site to dimensions that enabled them to be processed entirely by hand. The wavy, irregular quality of the cladding has a rugged aesthetic and has become a habitat for insects and rare bats." Photography by Nick Dearden.