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2021 European Research Prize
Constructive Land

“Constructive Land” proposes to examine the future of the British landscape in the context of the climate crisis. Our fertile landscape is constrained by pressures from farming, woodland, and housing, all of which need reimagining as we move into a postcarbon future. The research looks at the potential of agroforestry to develop arable farming alongside productive woodland and explores what materials and building systems can be drawn from a new model of regenerative land management.

Paloma Gormley
Summer Islam
University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins
Spatial Practices Program

Somf 2021 european research prize islam gormley proposal 01

Rock Hut was designed with sustainably forested timber and dry stone wall foundations © Choon Yuan Wang.

Jury
Marco Ferrari
Iker Gil (Chair)
Kent Jackson
Tim Marlow
Débora Mesa Molina
Sumayya Vally

How can the competing demands on our landscape be reconciled to facilitate the development of biobased materials in a postcarbon future?

Central Saint Martins of the University of the Arts London, in partnership with Forestry England and Material Cultures, is pleased to present Constructive Land, a research proposal examining the future of the British landscape in the context of the climate crisis. Our fertile landscape is constrained by pressures from farming, woodland, and housing, all of which need reimagining as we move into a postcarbon future. The research looks at the potential of agroforestry to develop arable farming alongside productive woodland and explores what materials and building systems can be drawn from a new model of regenerative land management.

This innovative research will have impact at multiple scales: at the scale of the material, the building, and of the landscape, working together as a holistic system. Our research methods are practical—encompassing material testing, prototyping, and building—and academic, including interviews and an in-depth literature review. Led by Summer Islam and Paloma Gormley, the production and application of new biobased materials, drawn from conventionally “unproductive” woodland material, will be investigated and tested over the course of the project. An experimental timber structure, which will facilitate teaching and community engagement with our woodlands will be designed and built by a group of thirty MArch students over the summer of 2022.

Our research will question the different value systems imposed onto our land, and its outcomes will inform our teaching: building on our ecological curriculum for future creative changemakers and proposing new models of practice centering sustainability alongside materials and people.

The future of sustainable construction works hand-in-hand with regenerative landscape management. © Material Cultures.

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Research Focus

The landscape of the UK is subject to competing demands, many of which are considered to be in direct conflict with one another. Are our fertile soils better dedicated to grazing land or arable farming? How can reforestation and afforestation serve us ecologically and also benefit the landowner or tenant farmer? And whilst the climate crisis has finally reached our headlines, the housing crisis rages on, presenting additional complexity to the decisions local authorities must make in order for the UK to meet its commitments to reach net zero. On top of this, growing our new biobased construction materials for the developments still to come presents a reimagining of land use previously unanticipated at scale.

By questioning the nature of a “productive” woodland, our project will investigate the different benefits and outcomes of woodland management, from climate resilience to increased biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Productive woodlands have the potential to source innovative new low embodied carbon materials which could transform the built environment, whilst also building regional supply chains across the country. The recalibration of our landscapes away from extractive practices toward a new model of regenerative land management, one which fosters regenerative resources, provides an exciting opportunity for construction innovation.

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Timber chip waste destined for use as biomass fuel could be integrated into innovative biobased construction materials. © Material Cultures | CSM Spatial Practices MArch.

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Constructive Landscapes will have impact at multiple scales: the material, the building, and the landscape. © Material Cultures.

Constructive Land is an impressive mixture of practical and academic research. It is genuinely collaborative, bringing together three diverse partners to examine the possibilities of a new regenerative model for land management in the context of both climate emergency and the housing crisis. I very much look forward to seeing the implementation of the project over the next year.

Tim Marlow, Chief Executive and Director, Design Museum, London

Summer Islam and Paloma Gormley. © Material Cultures.

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Somf 2021 european research prize paloma gormley headshot

Paloma Gormley
University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins
Spatial Practices Program

Somf 2021 european research prize summer islam headshot

Summer Islam
University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins
Spatial Practices Program

Paloma Gormley

is a founding director of Material Cultures. She is an internationally acclaimed designer responsible for a series of celebrated architectural and urban projects. Her work is rooted in a creative pragmatism whilst drawing on new technologies and the integration of new materials. Paloma co-runs “Construction in Detail” on the MArch course in the Spatial Studies department at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and has previously taught at the Bartlett, University College London, and the London Metropolitan University. She founded Practice Architecture with Lettice Drake in 2009, through which she has completed a number of critically acclaimed arts and cultural projects, including The Yard Theatre, a performance space for Bold Tendencies, and The Peckham Hotel.

Summer Islam

is a founding director of Material Cultures. Islam co-runs “Construction in Detail” on the MArch course in the Spatial Studies department at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Her work is focused on the holistic integration of systems thinking, construction technologies, and design. She has extensive experience in leading prominent cultural and community projects from inception to completion. Islam has also taught at the Bartlett, University College London, the London Metropolitan University, the Architectural Association, and the University of Cambridge. She was previously an associate at the award-winning design practice 6a architects in London. Islam cofounded design practice Studio Abroad with George Massoud in 2014.

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