Projects – Architectural Design
Kilbees’s Farm
Murdoch Wickham, one of the leading Landscape Architectural companies in the UK, approached us to supply the material for this exclusive project. They had designed this beautiful boat house/garden room, specifying the use of reclaimed timber; the effect is outstanding. To achieve this look John Murdoch insisted that every piece of timber must not have any clean, sawn edges; all joins had to be discreet. This structure was built using reclaimed Oak that was previously used for Groyne timbers on Bracklesham Bay. The structure blends into its environment beautifully, instantly looking like it is part of the history of the grounds.
The Chelsea Tree House
This stunning Tree House achieved a Silver Gilt Medal in 2002. Murdoch Wickham designed the structure for Pear Tree (Tree House) Ltd. By using large sections of reclaimed timber within the structure, the tree house achieves an ageless look. This spectacular design centres on a spiral dry stone which winds itself around the tree, displaying the cantilevered, cascading steps made from reclaimed tropical hardwood. The flooring from Tree slices; seating from Oak keel blocks Ex Chatham Dry Docks; edging made from Pile Points cut from 12m Greenheart piles and feature bridge planks from 800mm wide Sequoia tree slices.
London Zoo
We have had the pleasure of working with London Zoo (ZSL), for over 20 years. We have provided reclaimed tropical hardwood timber for numerous animal habitats, from the Anteater house, to the Gorilla Kingdom and Leamur enclosures, and most recently Land of the Lions. The extremely gifted Landscape Designers and Construction Engineers have strived to ensure the enclosures suit the needs of all their inhabitants.
Garden Room
6a architects were commissioned to design a garden room for a mother of a busy family who was reliant on a wheelchair. Through their unique, innovative approach they designed a structure that provides a Master Bedroom and Wet room. Ensuring they kept with the informality of the existing family home. 6a architects stated, ‘We wanted the accessibility requirements to be a positive architectural driver, making the house better than it had been previously’. (Macdonald, 2013, The Architects’ Journal). We were approached to supply reclaimed Jarrah cladding, which we sourced using reclaimed sleepers, and cut the sections to their specifications in our sawmill. The project was awarded 2 RIBA awards.
Chiel Office Interior
We had the pleasure of working with BASE interiors, a London Design Company, on this innovative project. Their clients, the Advertising Agency Cheil UK relocated to 28,000 sq ft of new offices space spread over four floors. The Ground floor was designed to showcase the companies work and awards with a flexible client and staff meeting area. We at Ashwells provided the timber for the cladding, sourced from Boscombe pier, Nr. Bournemouth.
Folly for a Flyover
This award winning project was built and designed by Assemble. The intent was ‘reclaiming the future of the site by re-imagining its past’. It was created as the home of a stubborn Landlord who refused to make way for a motorway. Once completed, and during it’s 9 week life, the structure became a Café by day and a cinema by night. We supplied the “bricks” made from tropical and temperate hardwoods. At the end of this wonderful project they were upcycled AGAIN! to make planters in the local Primary Schools.
Timberplay: Castle Hill
This play area was built on the site of a quarry situated in Ebbsfleet Valley near the Bluewater Shopping centre. During previous works, evidence was unearthed that packs of early humans hunted the area, with bone and flint pieces showing that the group were able to successfully hunt and butcher an elephant for its meat. In keeping with the history of the site we were asked to supply the timber to replicate a rib cage of a large mammal. The timber for this project came from an Oak Tree that was felled to make way for a car park near Stansted in Essex!
Timberplay: Millfield Park
Aileen Shackell, Landscape Designer and Phil Doyle, Play Consultant, won a competition to transform this park in Hackney, using a very limited budget. We worked with them to prepare and supply the central play-tree feature, the tree sections surrounding the sand area and the feature entrance. All tree sections were sourced from Tree Surgeons waste and managed forests. They also used various play features provided and installed by Timberplay.
