Talking through your design questions with me at the early stages will save you a lot of time in the long run. There are so many wonderful building materials and techniques out there but which is right for your project? What approach is likely to give you what you need and be achievable within your budget and timescale? Book me for a 1hr Design discussion to resolve these questions. I been building with natural materials for over 20yrs and have probably tried what you’re planning at some point before. To book a design discussion please click the link below.
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Featured below are many of the projects I’ve built over the last 20yrs. Some of these images may inspire you to create something of your own. Clicking on an image will give you a larger picture view. An eight meter reciprocal roundhouse to be used as sheltered fire pit and kitchen as part of the Outdoor Classroom setup for Hawkwood College Community Space. The atrium is a glazed above a green roof. The Roundwood Timber Frame is all made from local Larch. Thanks to to everyone on February Build Camp who put up with biblical weather to get the framework for this building up. The space is available free to the local community for charitable or not for profit events. One of the nation’s favorite Grand Designs episodes. Adrian worked with Ben on the Woodland House for about six months in 2002. Cruck frame buildings with a shingle roof have become very popular as a result. The walls can be timber-clad, hempcrete, or lime-plastered straw bale. This is still a must see episode if you've not see it do. In December 2011, Channel 4 asked Adrian to project-manage Kevin McCloud’s build. The resulting TV show, ‘Kevin McCloud’s Man Made Home’, is a four part series for Channel 4. The temporary nature of a building on wheels can in some situations make planning statues a lot simpler. The timber frame is made from Oak and Douglas Fir with hand made Oak shingles. Kevin McCloud collaborated with us during the design process and his passion for design and ecological principals made this an easy partnership. Construction notes for the self-builder can be seen on our blog. A new teaching space for Organiclea Workers Coop in the woodland glade. Fully insulated with thermafleece and triple glazed. The building will have a sedum roof, internal compost loo, electrics and disabled access. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Larch. A real joy to support the amazing outreach projects that flourish here. If you live in london and are interested in growing food this is the place to learn, or to buy your veg from. An incredible fifty people came to learn whilst helping to build this structure during Build Camp. We are now in the final stages. Thank you everyone. A wonderful reciprocal roof sat on cob and stone walls created during one of our Build Camps. This is a green roof carrying sedum. Wholewoods have been developing the outdoor teaching spaces at Farms For City Children for 10yrs. The big roundhouse is used by children from city schools to learn about nature, farming and story telling. This design features our signature 'Oakey Cokey' reciprocal ring beam. The walls are in filled using a variety of different techniques; cordwood, wattle and dauble, and rendered straw. The eye hole is left open with a shingle cladding. The green roof is looking good. We left it to wild seed which is an on-going experiment. The floor is of pitched bricks in concentric circles. The Roundwood timber frame is made from Larch. This charity is offering amazing experiences for urban children, please support them if you can. Thank you to everyone who joined Build Camp to make this happen. The new Outdoor classroom at Hawkwood College, Stroud. A longhouse design featuring an incredible 7mtr natural arch which was hand hewn. Also a double helix carved center pole. This building is to be available free to the local community for charitable or not for profit events. The building is set on the foot print of a medieval cow byre with a cobbled stone floor. This was a real challenge slopping in two directions. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Larch and Sweat Chestnut and the cladding is Redwood. Thanks again to the Build Camp team we had a real blast building this. Phase2 outdoor kitchen, compost loo & sheltered fire roundhouse is now under way. Brown wood, timber framed bothy/sauna constructed around a crack frame which will have a shingle roof and be fully insulated. Crossing the moat at Farms For City Children our bridge is a sculptural journey in timber. Each upright is carved by a different trainee and all the hand rails are hand carved to follow the natural form. An oak plank walk way sits on a solid oak-trunk beam. All the uprights and rails are cleft chestnut. A two chamber compost loo. Built around a Roundwood Cruck Frame. A Sweat Chestnut timber frame with hand hewn larch beams. The roofing material is a lightweigh onduline. This is the new Bug Barn. The building has an invertebrate roof. This pioneering idea is the next step on from green roofs. A super charged green/brown roof which is a cross between a wildflower meadow, a deserted brownfield site and a wildlife garden. Different habits mixed up for local invertebrates, a sort of intelligent chaos. Amazing sawn Redwood & Lawson's Cypress framed outdoor cafe shelter. Our roundwood cruck frame building at Spitalfields is the farms new shop. Spitalfields City Farm is an amazing oasis for the community near the centre of London and the staff are also doing vital out reach work with schools in the area.
We erected the frames and cut in the additional components on-site. Shingles for the roof have been made on-site by volunteers and corporate groups. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Larch. We build large pole barns for agricultural or educational use. An attractive, natural and craftsman made space as an alternative to the ubiquitous steel frame barn. We built this barn using large dimension Larch and Chestnut trees used in the round. Unlike the conventional pole barn we sit the posts on pad stones rather burying them in the ground which means the posts won’t rot. The frames of this barn is shingles but our other pole barns can support mono-pitch roofs. Our pole barns can be timber clad and have the option of a tin or shingle roof.
If you’d like to talk to us about building a Pole Barn get in touch. We built this roundhouse as an outdoor classroom for the school's forest school sessions. They keep the sides open to the elements and for natural light. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Larch. Our open sided, 'soft top' roundhouse is used as an outdoor classroom for forest school lessons. We took classes of children to help with this project during design and technology sessions. This process really helped all the teachers and pupils take ownership of the space whilst being a great one off opportunity for all. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Sweat Chestnut and Lawsons Cyprus. Our first turf roof building. A wattle and daub walled artists studio in a back garden in North London. The walls are lime rendered clay plaster. The floor is a polished natural clay. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Sweat Chestnut. A twin toilet and shower facility at the outdoor learning area of Farms For City Children. We fitted this building with a circular timber clad wall, and a skylight. This design features a fan shaped reciprocal roof which could also be turf rather than tin. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Larch. The building has three doors is divided into two separate toilets rooms and one central shower under the skylight. The new outdoor teaching space at Westberry Wetlands site in London. We built this roundhouse for London Wildlife Trust using timber sourced from one of their local sites. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Sweat Chestnut. During the project we trained volunteers and staff who assisted on the build. This building has since won a design award. A fabulous nature reserve and real oasis for people in north London. Project awaiting further funding - A roundwood Cruck Framed pizza oven with clay tile roof. The Roundwood Timber Frame is primarily Sweat Chestnut and features hand carved king pins. A splash of green adding colour and nature to the street. This smallest of our constructions is a green framed shed clad in larch boards and sided with hand cleft oak shingles. We are currently experimenting with different crops on the roof. We built this traditional Hogan roundhouse as a small off grid, low-impact home. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Larch. We built this roundhouse as a frame only and the clients then completed the rest of the build. The space is used for retreats and yoga on a rural small holding in South Cornwall. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Sweat Chestnut. This interesting turf roof structure is used as a map room and rain shelter at the public foot path entrance point to a private woods in Wales. We built this structure during a natural building event. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Douglas Fir. This is a re-creation of a period croft dwelling in the black house style. It is build on the footings of an old croft and is now a bothy. The Roundwood Timber Frame is made from Larch. Project in progress. A scrap heap challenge roundhouse. This building is build entirely from scrap, unwanted or abandoned materials. Larch roundwood timber frame, scrap slab wood roof with reclaimed onduline sheeting. The top lantern is reused weather boarding with scrap rubber coat awaiting shingling. Chunky bold furniture project build with local volunteers for a public wildlife garden in Stroud. Organised by SVP and taught by Wholewoods. These have be very popular and we've installed three at different sites around Stroud. The bench is made of milled oak. A group carving project for public community space in Stroud. Organised by SVP and taught by Wholewoods working with local volunteers. Carved in Welingtonia and planted in the sensory garden at Stratford Park A 3mtr rustic table for the Woodyard. A protoype with Lawson's cypress slab wood legs and bench Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Annual design and build project at Westonbirt Arboretum. An annual five day project for 3rd and 4th year Architecture students. We help the students work through the design process and finally guide the actual build. All the wood used is harvested at the arboretum.
Over the years Wholewoods have run many educational sessions on natural building for organisations and local groups, including: Oxford Brookes University; Falmouth University; The Green Building Council; BTCV; Eon; London College of Communication; Wateraid; Peter Bedford Housing Association and various City Farms.
Reciprocal Roundhouse, Hawkwood College
Cruck frame, Ben Law's House
Kevin McCloud's, 'Man Made Home'
Fully insulated roundhouse, Organiclea
Cob House Reciprocal Roof
Outdoor Classroom, Farms For City Children
Craft Barn, Hawkwood College
Cruck Frame Bothy (in-progress)
Cleft Oak and Chestnut Bridge
Compost loo, Hawkwood College
Roundwood framed barn.
Cafe shelter, Hawkwood College
Farm Shop, Spitalfields City Farm
Agricultural Barn
Forest School Roundhouse, Brixham
Forest School Roundhouse, Queens Forest School
Studio, London
Toilet and Shower Roundhouse
Insulated Roundhouse, London Wildlife Trust
Pizza Oven, Farms For City Children
Green roofed, shingle sided bike shed
Community Home, Devon. Hogan
Yoga Studio Roundhouse, Cornwall
Map Room, Wales
Bothy, Highlands
Scrapwood Roundhouse, The Woodyard
Community Furniture Building Project
Community carving project
Welingtonia feasting table - the Woodyard
Design & Build Course, Bath University
Project Planning
We’ve been building Reciprocal Frame Roundhouses and Roundwood Timber Frame structures for over twenty years. The following topics describe some of the key features you might want to think about. Browse these options to help plan your project. Even if you are not yet sure exactly what you want ⇒ get in touch and we’ll guide you through the process.
Foundations
I advise that your building is free-standing and sits either on pad stones, type1 hardcore footings or a concrete base. Many people build roundhouses with their upright posts buried in the ground, which makes them susceptible to rot. In some extreme circumstances there may still be an argument for this approach but you’d need a very good reason.
Timber Frame
We have pioneered our own timber frame jointing system that is extremely robust, making our buildings suitable for schools and public spaces. We use timber in the round because it’s beautiful and strong. Make sure that durable species are used for the frame and that the bark is peeled off. It is sometimes possible to use your own timber if you have trees on-site. This depends on species and form etc but it will not likely save you money unless you are able to fell and extract the timber yourself for free.
Size
7-9 meters diameter is the most common roundhouse size as this holds a normal school class. We can build them as big as 20 meters and as small as 4. Barns and cruck frame buildings can be almost any size. Be modest but be sure you have considered what you may need in the future. If you are unsure please do speak to us first.
Roof
The roundhouses we build are usually turf covered although we can fit a canvas top, timber or tin roof. The reciprocal frame roof offers an open space which requires no central support. Our barns and cruck frames tend to have shingle or tin roofs. I personally love to have a living roof on a building and failing that one made from natural materials. However for some needs, budgets it simply is not achievable or appropriate and that’s ok.
Education
Our roundhouses and cruck frames are often used as educational or public spaces. We love involving people in the building process and have worked with school children, university students and volunteers of all ages. These guided sessions are facilitated by Adrian Leaman, lead craftsman and trained Forest School leader. Our team will of course build for you as a normal contractor if that is more appropriate.
Costs
Many educational venues ask us to build the frame only, going on to lay their own roof and walls with staff and/or volunteers. That work can be facilitated by anyone with good general building skills, following a day of training, and offers a significant cost saving. We often build the entire roundhouse, including roof and walls. Commonly staff/volunteers will get envolved in the work. This can also reduce the overall cost of construction. To get an idea of costs get in touch and we’ll work through an estimate for you.
Involving children, students, staff or volunteers in the building process is about more than just cost saving. There are as many good reasons for it as there are people keen to be involved. The smiles and satisfaction along the way say it all.
Planning Control
We can advice on planning based on our experience over the last 15years. However it is up to you to determine if you need planning consent and if you wish to apply. Some people choose to apply, some apply retrospectively, others use permitted development rights. Pictured here is the Mobile home we built for Kevin McCloud. This design was chosen to fall within permitted development rights. Please contact a planning consultant if you are not sure.
Floors
Our roundhouses and cruck frame buildings are either installed with a natural wood-chip floor or can be fitted with floor boards.
Cordwood walls
Cordwood is a great walling option using lengths of wood like bricks held together with a cob (clay & straw mix). We can fit these wall although educational centres and schools like to fit cordwood themselves as a volunteer or children’s activity. If this is the case I can give instruction on technique.
Hazel or Willow Walls
We can supply woven panels for the walls. It is also possible to have removable panels which can be taken down in summer to make the space open sided. Again weaving these panels is a brilliant activity to share with groups of all ages and many venues do this themselves.
Wattle and Daub Walls
Woven panels can also be covered in a cob mix to render them wind proof. This is called Wattle and Daub. Applying and mixing the daub is a fun activity for any group to get involved with.
Weatherboard Walls
We can also clad the roundhouse with weatherboarding which is a very attractive walling. We usually use Larch or Chestnut planks.
Please ⇒ get in touch to discuss your project so that we can talk through which option best suits your needs and budget.
Further information about Roundhouses
It’s always inspiring to spend time in a Roundhouse. Round buildings are a welcome departure from the square-ness of our normal built environment. They sit very naturally in the landscape and, being similar to the Roundhouses of the Celts, create a link to our past.
The Roundhouses we build feature a Reciprocal Frame roof, which requires no central support. This roof is usually turf covered and sits on 8 to 13 posts, depending on structure diameter. (Severn to eight meters is most common as this holds a normal class, but we can also build them bigger or smaller.)
These structures are elegant and mind-boggling spectacles of geometry in action. The Reciprocal Frame, also known as a Mandala roof, has been used since the 12th century in Chinese and Japanese architecture although little or no trace of these ancient methods remains. Leonardo da Vinci also designed a self-supporting bridge using this method in the 16th century
Adrian Leaman has over 10 years’ experience in Roundwood Timber Framing. He has worked throughout the UK and is considered one of the country’s experts in this construction method. Adrian was involved in Ben Law’s ‘Woodland House’ (featured on Grand Designs) and project managed the build of Kevin McCloud’s ‘Man Made Home’ for the Channel 4 series.
