Carolina de Menezes is a Brazilian student attending Hooke Park on the 12-month MSc course. ‘I was interested in forestry and wanted to explore something that wasn’t just industrial design. I visited last year and felt this was the place where I should be, although it was mid-winter at the time,’ she laughs as we look at today’s weather. ‘There is a big component to the course which is about being among the trees and having a chance to be outdoors. The stuff that you learn from Chris about the seasons, how it affects the trees and ultimately the timber, makes it very real. It makes you understand the material, where it comes from and how special it is. ‘My previous work experience involved computer programming,’ she continues, ‘and so was very computer focused. I worked on design for developments and finding solutions to local problems. But now that I have come here I don’t think I am ready to work in the city. Here we have huge workshops, and space, it affects how you design.’ Then she nods towards something lurking behind a wooden screen. ‘We also have a robot.’ The robotic arm arrived in 2014 and Zachary describes it as being a ‘neutral tool’. At the end of its single, long arm you can attach any tool you might need. He enthuses: ‘so this means there is no longer the need to work with square corners and flat surfaces which is what’s usual when working with wood. Instead this robot performs like a surgeon which completely changes how you can work with wood — such as using the ‘forks’ in a tree as part of your structure.’ Much of this exciting work was initiated by Martin Self, founder of the Design + Make programme launched
in 2010 and then director of Hooke Park. Now free of the framework dome I found him attached to on my arrival, Martin is able to join us, ‘Globally it is a unique course working intimately with wood,’ he explains, ‘The aim is to understand its character, quality and implications. To understand the energy that goes into using wood. Here, we think very carefully about architecture that respects the place and materials and about continuing the legacy John Makepeace began. An architecture school with this mix of resources teaches a lot of lessons.’ As I walk around I can’t help but think, is this the future? Building and construction play a major role in our climate breakdown, accounting for nearly 40% of our energy-related CO2 emissions alone. Martin, Zachary, Chris and the highly skilled team here at Hooke Park are working hard to inspire and educate a bold new generation of the world’s architects. Seeing the students at work, joining the dots between digital design and physical form, and all the while striving to steward the very ground that provides their material, is something to behold. For many of us, working with nature is straightforward common sense. It is a wonderful thing to imagine a global industry waking up to the possibilities, and the ideas generating from this fascinating Dorset woodland taking root. The next open day at Hooke Park will be May 2 2020, for more details please visit the Hooke Park website hookepark.aaschool.ac.uk @hookepark bridporttimes.co.uk | 55