A Separate Place

A Separate Place is a red cedar sitting room for just a few people. There is no building footprint, only shadow, and so minimal site impact. It is tailored specifically to its location but adaptable to any. The door is high and very small, but once inside it’s a fine safe place; there’s a warm fire burning and tea in the kettle.

Jesse Randzio, 3rd Year, organized a month long summer workshop to build a Separate Place, a hanging retreat in the forest. He designed and built the 4½ square meter floating capsule with the help of students from throughout the AA. The group visited local industries in Lyme Regis and in Bridport to learn boat building and rigging techniques. The pod is built of western red cedar in the style of a clinker boat, with copper rivets and trim, and a steel chimney and stove. The timber is from the Hooke Park forest, and other materials were supplied locally.

We suggest a future of AV Custerson Award projects that are continuously under examination. Every five years, matching the cyclical forest management plan, a project should be reevaluated and steps should be taken to address the relevance of each project and its relationship to other Hooke Park programs. In this way, we can ensure that Hooke Park remains an active, vibrant, and productive place.

The 2007 AV Custerson Award funded project was exhibited at the Architectural Association, London, in 2008.  Jesse Randzio has been the only student recipient of this award, which is annually given to an AA student or staff member.