students design and build a low carbon building prototype in cambridgeshire

emphasizing the incomparable benefits of hands-on learning, a group of students from london metropolitan school of architecture has designed and built the award-winning ‘polyvalent studio’ building prototype in the english countryside. under the guidance of their unit leaders, paloma gormley and david grandorge, the team has successfully realized a 30 sqm timber-frame studio for an industrial hemp farm in huntingdon. 

images courtesy of practice architecture

the small intervention is designed primarily as a studio space, however, it has also been developed with adaptability in mind as it can be easily transformed to suit different functions and locations. elevated from the ground level, the building is composed of a timber structure and in-situ hempcrete. the exterior is covered in hemp fiber bio-resin corrugated cladding sheets, which is a cellulose-based material developed by the client, margent farm, as an alternative to steel or PVC cladding. the students had a total budget of £10,000 and were able to construct the studio in just 12 days.

polyvalent studio was awarded the sustainable project prize in the AJ small projects 2020 awards. the student-led project took the accolade for its ‘spirit and ease’ and ‘experiential’ use of materials. the judges also commented, ‘in a world where we are dependent on the digital, this shows the importance of the analogue in educational research: this was students – who were out in a field in november – thinking and learning about being an architect.’ – architects’ journal

project info:

project name: polyvalent studio

location: margent farm, huntingdon, the UK

architectural design: unit 7, the cass

unit leaders: paloma gormley and david grandorge

students: josh kaile, arbana berdynaj, marcello seminara, oliver carter, tarn philipp, rebecca johansson, dahu mumagi, daisy zhai, charlie tomlinson, ross ellmore, laurence hillier, philomena reinmuller, alex scally, enrico grimani

engineering consultancy: structure workshop