The Lal Lal site, located an hour and a half drive west of Melbourne, is a beautiful expanse of extant riparian woodland. The design approach is to provide a two stage residential project (cabin and house) which responds to the ecological dynamics of the site. The main design strategy is to harness the natural forces inherent in timber harvested from the site by utilizing bifurcations in the tree structures in place of conventional connected post and beam structures.
The advantage of these bifurcated joints—usually discarded in commercial tree logging—is their great inherent strength. Other parts of the felled trees will be utilized for roof beams, floorboards and scantlings for tracks/steps. The result is an eco-morphological harvesting of the forest, and the sustainable use of all parts of the tree.
