The pool of natural builders in the UK is small. In 2014 Straw Works took the initiative and established the School of Natural Building (SNaB) to improve the situation.

Biomimicry is the emulation of nature to find solutions to man-made challenges by looking at forms, materials, processes, functions and systems. Using this approach the presentation will highlighted the continued work by Biomimicry UK, alongside The Ecological Sequestration Trust, the Scottish Government working with the visionary charity Resonate Arts House to deliver a unique build that offers the community a place for tranquility, health and well-being and learning about the role of nature and can play in building resilient communities.

For thousands of years, humans have used opportunities in nature to construct habitable environments, and Permaculturists have intelligently revisited these strategies for modern applications.Yet, even these efforts are not enough to meet the demands of our current global crises of energy, population, ecology and environment. Moreover, humanity is undergoing the largest migration in its history with movement to urban centers, and such a demographic shift renders most permaculture building techniques useless.

The sustainable management of our woodland resource needs a change in culture. A move away from the clearfell industrial forestry model to continuous cover forestry and coppice management. From well managed woods come the building poles for a new architectural vernacular – Roundwood Timber Framing. The jointing techniques of this method allow a simple model to become adaptable and can be applied globally with local knowledge of tree species.