Via: Behance

Via: The English Group

Take a look at their full catalog here and some behind-the-scenes shots here.

Via: The English Group

Oriented strand board lines every wall, floor and ceiling.

Black-stained timber clads the exterior of the gabled building, named Stealth Barn, and it sits perpendicular to a larger brick barn that the architects previously converted into a residence.

The OSB surfaces are intended to be reminiscent of the straw bales that fill the barns of many farms nearby.

Via: Dezeen

SGL Projekt were inspired by and named the farm after the storks that return to the farm each year to nest.

Via: Dezeen

The house, that has been constructed to withstand tropical winds and nasty weather and that is designed to assemble quickly by any average person, would be a good aid to people living in areas devastated by natural disasters.

Via: Designboom

Big trees are incredibly important ecologically as they help define the architecture of forests and store much of the world’s biomass, locking up billions of tonnes of carbon that might otherwise escape into the atmosphere.  They also sustain countless other animal, plant and flower species.

Only a small number of tree species have the genetic capacity to grow really big with the right growing conditions.

I have included examples of these tree species in this post and you can clearly see how they relate in size to our own English Oak.

There is evidence to suggest that tree growth is being slow down by a warmer world, not only severe droughts are devastating for the trees, warmer temperatures cause trees to produce less but consume more energy just to survive, with as a result less energy to grow.

This brings on the vicious circle where killing of big trees means more carbon into the atmosphere and as a result further warming, forest shrinkage and carbon emissions….

Soon enough we will be living in a different world where ancient behemoths are replaced by short-lived pioneers and generalists that can live everywhere, where forests store less carbon and sustain fewer dependent animals, and where giant cathed ral-like crowns become a thing of the past…

And for anyone who might be wondering, the UK’s tallest tree is a Douglas Fir in Argyll  at 63.79 metres, an incredible 209 feet – taller even than the Scott monument in Edinburgh.

You may also like to have a look at our previous post on Redwood National Park in California

Grade I-listed Harmondsworth Barn is ranked alongside the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey for its historic value, the body said.

Built in 1426 by Winchester College, it has undergone some repairs, but remains largely as it was built. English Heritage said it would save it from neglect and decay.

The barn joins Stonehenge and parts of Hadrian’s Wall in English Heritage’s national collection.

‘As good as it gets’

The structure resembles the nave of a large church, standing at nearly 60m (200ft) long, 12m (40ft) wide, and 11m (36ft) high.
It has 13 huge oak trusses which rest on stone blocks holding up the roof and the timber and stones bear the original carpenter and mason marks.

The structure would have been used to store grain from the surrounding manor, owned by the Bishop of Winchester, with profits from the produce going to pay for the school.
The barn was used until the 1970s but fell into disrepair under the ownership of an offshore company which had bought it in 2006.

In 2009, English Heritage became concerned about the barn’s deteriorating condition and issued an urgent works notice for emergency repairs to keep it water and wind-tight.
A dispute over payment for the emergency works led to English Heritage buying the barn for £20,000 at the end of last year.

Michael Dunn, historic buildings inspector for the heritage agency, said the building was the best preserved and largest surviving medieval timber barn in England. “This is high status, this is the finest timber, and a very confident carpenter. This is as good as it gets,” he said.

Staffed by volunteers, the barn will be open for free two Sundays a month between April and October, with plans to open it every Sunday from next year.

“’Listen to your hands‘ is a desk with drawers. A push of one drawer pulls out another as if in direct conversation with the action.

A gentle closing of a drawer keeps the others intact thus communicating to us that we need to act with intention, we need to listen with our hands.”

With this project Lee Sanghyeok won the second prize at the [D3] contest at imm cologne last week.

Via: Dezeen

Other designs in this range are the wooden salt and pepper grinders, a pen-case with convenient docking possibilities for digital devices, the Twist task lamp with separate batons joined by magnets, and a reversible tray with adjustable handles.

Via: Dezeen