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How many U-Build boxes did it take to stage the party for the National Gallery’s 200th birthday?

Drop your number in the comments. Closest guess wins bragging rights 🏆

📍Trafalgar Square, 26th July.

It marked the grand finale of Jeremy Deller’s The Triumph of Art, celebrating 200 years of the National Gallery. The square came alive with vibrant processions, brass bands, folk dancers, and giant puppets- bringing together commissions from partner institutions across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland for an unforgettable day of public art. 🎭

Our modular stage boxes formed the main platform for the handbuilt Gorsedd structure, created by @studioclaash and the brilliant volunteers at @centreforalternativetechnology

Lightweight, flatpack and rapidly demountable. Exactly what a pop up in the heart of London needs This is what our borrow a box Library is all about: sharing resources so communities can build temporary spaces to gather, create and celebrate together. 💛

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org for more info!

Ever considered building your own sustainable and recyclable cabin? 🌿🏡
Our cabins are not only eco-friendly but also incredibly cozy, offering the perfect retreat in nature.

Plus, they can be built on wheels, so you can take your home wherever life takes you—whether it’s the mountains, the beach, or the countryside.

📸Repost @thisplacewecallhome_
Capturing our U-Build cabin collaboration with @recabins

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#SustainableLiving #EcoCabin #UBuild #TinyHome #NomadicLiving #Architecture #TinyHouseMovement #CabinLife #OffGridLiving #MinimalistLiving #VanLife #TinyHouseOnWheels #SustainableDesign #CabinVibes #DIYCabin #ModularHomes #TinyCabins #HomeOnWheels #AdventureLiving #PrefabHomes #NatureRetreat #AlternativeLiving

✨Repost @recabins
📸 @thisplacewecallhome_

🍁✨ This is your sign to get a cabin! 🍂🏡
We designed these scenic cabins in collaboration with @recabins. 🛖🌲 Book a getaway with them to unplug from your busy life and experience the magic for yourself. 🌿🧘‍♀️💫
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#SustainableArchitecture #CabinDesign #EcoFriendlyLiving #TinyCabin #OffGridLife #SustainableLiving #GreenArchitecture #NatureInspiredDesign #EcoCabins #ModernCabin #SlowLiving #ScenicGetaway #ArchitectureLovers #EcoRetreat #DesignWithNature

✨How many people did it take to build this structure for @architectscan in time for the opening @futurebuildnow ? 👷🏻‍♀️💪🏽

Closest guess gets bragging rights 👀
Come and see it for free in person at @futurebuildnow

📍 ExCeL London
📅 12 to 14 May 2026
🎟️ Free tickets available via the registration link

We built this flat-packed, demountable and reusable U-Build structure for @architectscan , the Architects Climate Action Network.

ACAN is a network of people across architecture and the built environment taking action on the climate and ecological crises.

At Futurebuild, they are hosting talks, workshops and conversations about decarbonisation, ecological regeneration and cultural change in the built environment.

Futurebuild brings together people, ideas and innovation across construction and the built environment.

We hope to see you there 👷🏻‍♀️✨

Where should these pieces go next? A festival, school, gallery, garden, or somewhere else? ✨

And that’s a wrap on Grand Designs Live!

Over the bank holiday weekend, our temporary plywood Architecture Advice Hub welcomed lots of curious visitors, big questions, and brilliant conversations about building differently.

The hub itself was built from pre-loved, flat-packed structures from our Box Library:

💎 The diamond cut-out columns once formed a travelling theatre in 2023
🔴 The colourful dotted stage boxes were part of a pop-up Parallel Parliament in 2025
🪵 Now, together, they became a temporary advice hub

This is what circular construction can look like:
deconstruction, not demolition
reuse, not refuse ♻️

Huge thanks to everyone who visited us and @studiobark at @granddesignslivelondon

Where should these pieces go next? A festival, school, gallery, garden, or somewhere else? ✨

And that’s a wrap on Grand Designs Live!

Over the bank holiday weekend, our temporary plywood Architecture Advice Hub welcomed lots of curious visitors, big questions, and brilliant conversations about building differently.

The hub itself was built from pre-loved, flat-packed structures from our Box Library:

💎 The diamond cut-out columns once formed a travelling theatre in 2023
🔴 The colourful dotted stage boxes were part of a pop-up Parallel Parliament in 2025
🪵 Now, together, they became a temporary advice hub

This is what circular construction can look like:
deconstruction, not demolition
reuse, not refuse ♻️

Huge thanks to everyone who visited us and @studiobark at @granddesignslivelondon

A look back at our Ask an Architect arena buildfor Grand Designs Live 🏗️

✨ Huge thanks to everyone who came to say hello at ExCeL London, and to our sister company @studiobark for sharing the space with us.

✨Featuring U-Builder Nick taking apart the build, with no waste left behind.

✨We like to think of our U-Build boxes as giant wooden Lego: endlessly adaptable, easily stackable, and genuinely fun to play with.

The best bit? They are already on their way to being reused at another exciting project. ♻️

What if the future of housing starts small?

Join us from today till the 29th of May, at The Building Centre, for the ‘Small Scale, Big Ideas’ exhibition.

A month-long exhibition exploring how compact, thoughtful architecture can reshape the way we live, build and respond to the climate and housing crises.

The exhibition brings together twelve progressive practices working across housing, materials and experimental forms of construction, including U-Build and Studio Bark.

Our modular plywood boxes form part of the exhibition itself, creating temporary plinths and a U-Build stand where visitors can explore the system and discover projects spanning self-build homes, extensions, commercial fit-outs and community spaces.

Come and see it for yourself.

Small Scale, Big Ideas
The Building Centre, Main Gallery
5th to 29th of May 2026

Find out more via @thebuildingcentre

A look back at our Ask an Architect arena build for Grand Designs Live 🏗️ Featuring U-Builders Oliver Berry and Bailey O’Leary on the tools 👷‍♂️

We like to think of our U-Build boxes as giant wooden Lego. Endlessly adaptable, easily stackable, and genuinely fun to play with. Watch them go from pallets of single boxes into an immersive, interactive space built to share knowledge and spark conversation over the bank holiday weekend.

Best bit? It was all made from our circular Box Library materials, so now the event has wrapped it’ll leave no trace behind 🙂‍↕️

Huge thanks to everyone who came to say hello at ExCeL London, and to our sister company @studiobark for sharing the space with us. ✨

What does it take to build a giant demountable structure inside ExCeL? Watch and find out. 👷🏻‍♀️

Got a question about your own project? This is the place to ask it.

The U-Build crew is heading to Grand Designs Live, 1 to 4 May, and we’re transforming our modular boxes into something rather special. Throughout the four day event, the timber framed space will serve as the ‘Ask an Architect’ arena, where visitors can book a free consultation for expert advice on planning, site appraisals and everything in between.

We have an exciting line up across the weekend. Studio Bark, the architects behind our U-Build system, will be on a designated stand on Friday and Saturday, where you can put those crucial project questions to architects Ella Thorns and Hannah Towler.

Our Director Nick Newman and Studio Manager Livvy Bushell will be on hand on Monday to meet visitors and talk all things U-Build. We believe in deconstruction, not demolition. Rather than creating, using and wasting masses of trade show materials that end up in landfill, we’re supplying hundreds of our stage boxes and diamond cut out columns from our very own Box Library. Our materials have lived many lives already, and they’ll continue to do so.

Grand Designs Live is the UK’s leading home and garden event. Four days of self build inspiration, expert advice, hundreds of exhibitors, live talks and the iconic Grand House at its centre.

Get your tickets on the Grand design live website and come say hello!

Throwback Thursday to the launch of our Workshop Stage at SDS26.

We kicked things off with a jewellery workshop hosted by @colibri.cawo using materials from @tpbennettllp Material Library, followed by a colourful deep‑dive into maximalism with Siobhan Murphy from @interiorcurve in the workshop „Demystifying the Myths of Maximalism“.

Thank you to @ubuild for creating such an impressive stage. This was just the beginning and we’re already excited for what’s coming next year.

#SurfaceDesign #SDS27 #WorkshopStage

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

✨An extension for a 1830s Georgian cottage. The brief included, a beautiful view of the garden, an upstairs yoga room with an en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books.

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

✨The design:
In collaboration with the clients, we designed a lightweight timber extension that sits above the existing structure, defined by an asymmetric pitched roof and a vaulted interior. Large, carefully placed openings, including picture windows and rooflights, bring daylight deep into the space and frame views of the picturesque garden, while the CNC cut plywood structure forms integrated shelving, expressing the construction and embedding storage throughout.

Externally, the dark slatted cladding enables the extension to recede into the cottage and its surrounding landscape, allowing it to sit quietly within its context and complement the existing material character.

✨The construction :
We developed a flat-pack CNC building system with @studiobark and fabricated the structure as CNC-cut timber cassettes with Cut and Construct, delivered to site in flat-pack form. There we built the extension collectively with the client. For insulation we used sheep’s wool from @thermafleeceuk

Moreover, bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating, with structural engineering by @structure.workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building were carried out by Francis Builders.

Got a project in mind?
Dm or email us at info@u-build.org

A 1830s Georgian cottage and a brief that included an upstairs yoga room, a proper en suite, and enough shelves to house a lifetime of books. Tucked down a quiet street in rural Essex, this almost 200 year old cottage had been extended more than once in its long life.

The question was how to add one more chapter without drowning out the ones that came before?

“Carrying out our recent build project with U-Build has been an amazing experience.We wanted to add a first-floor extension to our 1830s cottage to provide an upstairs yoga space and bedroom with an en-suite shower room and a landing space to accommodate all our books. The team came up with an innovative design, with high ceilings vaulted in birch, which managed the difficult task of sitting well with the existing building while not attempting to copy it.They managed the planning application process, keeping us informed and worked with us to ensure that we understood the proposals. To our delight, they told us that if we wished we could have some involvement in the build process and we happily agreed.”- clients testimonial.

The response:
A flat-pack CNC system, developed with @studiobark.
A first-floor extension with an asymmetric pitched roof projecting beyond the footprint below. Laminated plywood beams form a vaulted birch ceiling. Junctions with the existing stonework are carefully resolved- clearly expressed, without imitation. High-level perimeter glazing brings daylight deep into the space.

The construction uses CNC-cut timber cassettes, manufactured by Cut and Construct and delivered to site in flat-pack form.

Sheep’s wool insulation from Thermafleece is pre-cut to each module. Bespoke copper radiators by @johnstone_copper provide heating. Structural engineering by Structure Workshop. Brickwork and works to the existing building by Francis Builders.
Delivered collaboratively by the clients, Studio Bark and U-Build. Fabrication and construction completed in approximately four months.

Got a project in mind? Dm or email us at info@u-build.org