Submission to the Darlington Estate Field of dreams design competition for a prototype of a wider scheme of eco 'glamping' pods, built with locally sourced renewable materials and labour.
The pod looks to celebrate the use of wood as a sustainable, renewable material; together with its use for heating. The physical approach to the pod provides a glimpse of the use of wood in both aspects of being used for cladding and burnt for heating; the locally made burnt cedar mimicking the burning of the wood in the stove.
The creation of an angled skylight allows stargazing whilst in bed at night, and the pitch of the roof allowing the illumination of the seating area during the morning. The skylight is intended to face approximately South West to allow this. Subsequently the external deck seating area faces the setting sun, becoming a space used in the evening.
The external log store sits within the void beneath the stairs leading up to the bed. Once dried these can be carried in and placed beneath the stove-side bench, this store being visible through a plane of glass from the outside.
The whole pod sits on-top of a gabion foundation, in the form of a U. This will act as a thermal store of the latent heat of both the ground and the stove, whilst also preventing the progress of moisture into the deck. When the pod is dismantled and removed to another site, the gabion foundation can be left. This then becomes a low bench for a fire pit, which, facing approximately South-South-West, is ideal to be used in late afternoon and sunset. Whilst the pod is in place, sections of the U protrude from beneath the deck, meaning the fire pit may still be used.
