Clearfell House

This new building for Forestry England in Dalby Forest in Yorkshire is both a teaching tool, a place of learning and an exemplary construction demonstrator project. The building will be used as a multifunctional room for learning about woodlands through interpretation, and the thriving wildlife and habitat in Dalby Forest. The project questions the impact of plantation woodlands on our landscape, and demonstrates that the recalibration of our landscapes away from extractive practices provides an exciting opportunity for innovation in construction through an alternative material palette of underutilised timber species and materials. Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down as part of a careful forest management lifecycle. The site for Clearfell House was chosen as a place for critical reflection on the impacts of different forestry practices on our landscape with a spectacular view of Dalby Forest where forestry activities happen. Clearfell House is designed using a material palette drawn from British forestry systems. The structural frame is made with Ash and Larch, species that are both compromised by climate change and the spread of disease. The lengths of the Ash and Larch boards are limited by what can be feasibly grown within British woodlands, necessitating a splice joint between the two types of timber. Each timber is employed differently - the Ash sits under the external envelope of the building, protected by the elements, whilst the more resilient Larch protrudes from and buttresses the frame.