Inhabitat Attends an Inspiring (and Soggy!) Woodland Design Lab Camping Trip in Wales

When we heard about the three-day green <a href="http://craftedspace.co.uk/woodland_design_lab11/">Woodland Design Lab</a>, we pulled on our boots, packed our camping bags, and booked our train ticket straight from Liverpool to Wales to be a part of it! Run by <a href="http://craftedspace.co.uk/">Jenny Hall of Crafted Space</a> and <a href="http://recycledvenues.org.uk/">Tabitha Pope of Recycled Venues</a> (the same folks who dreamed up this crazy <a href="http://inhabitat.com/ginormous-shimmering-recycled-cd-fish-rocks-the-glastonbury-festival/">CD Fish at the Glastonbury Festival</a>), and held in the verdant Snowdonia National Park, the lab attracted an inspired group of roughly 20 green-minded architects, artists, builders, designers, and structural engineers who were not at all deterred by camping in muddy, soggy conditions. The idea behind the lab was to learn about site specific design in a short amount of time using all natural materials that were largely harvested directly from the <a href="http://www.graigwen.co.uk/">Graig Wen campsite</a> where we stayed. (If that sounds weird to American campers used to strict National Park laws, you should know that none were broken in Wales!) After roaming what was once a slate quarry and choosing their favorite sites, the group split off into small teams that constructed three awesome pieces of art cum architecture (come rain or sunshine) in just one and a half days - including the incredible wooden Skybowl you see above.

The merry crew who attended!

The "Piddle Paddle Plonk" was conceived as an art piece that makes music

A long pole was hollowed out to make the plume

And wooden "keys" were attached to the steel axis, where hanging "dodgers" knocked against them to make notes

The "Skybowl" or "Starflower" was designed to create a communal star-gazing experience

Seven logs were erected at an angle

And clad with strips of sawn timber and planks

This structure can be easily disassembled and recycled elsewhere

The "Bioshroom" or "Rhizome" is an art piece that creates life out of a dead tree

The geometric patterns were created using mortice and tenon joints

That are remarkably strong

This project was erected in the middle of the woods

Quite far from base camp

And makes a pretty decent drum!

These logs were sourced locally from dense woods

People from all walks of life got together to create sustainable art and architecture (and lots of monkey fun!)

Most of the power tools were powered using this single solar panel

Many ideas were discussed before the three were chosen

Jenny Hall teaches participants how to make mortice and tenon joints

The Tree Bog is a compost toilet!

With a green roof

Jenny claimed she could smell something funky, but we were amazed at how clean and inoffensive this well-used toilet was

All organic waste was composted.

Natalia from Cyprus peels logs the old fashioned way

After this event's incredible success, both Jenny and Tabitha look forward to hosting others in the future.