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BOUTCHER FOREST SCHOOL


Education
South London
2023-2025







Studio MASH’s Boutcher Forest School project combines landscape, art and architecture to transform a neglected corner of a central London primary school into a wild and inspiring pocket of woodland, filled with flora and fauna and rich with learning opportunities. Studio MASH were appointed to guide the overall strategic vision for the phased project, as well as to design and manage the construction of the central Forest Classroom structure.


     



This timber pavilion – a canopy on 14 stilts – is designed to feel as if it is a natural part of the forest itself. The curving bean-shaped plan fits around the existing trees. The circular columns are made of telegraph poles with an irregular tree-trunk-like quality. The columns stand on screw pile foundations, minimising build cost and concrete use, while reducing the impact of the building on soil and root structures. There are no walls or floor thresholds; the learning space is a continuation of the surrounding landscape.

Material choices prioritise durability, sustainability, and legibility. The roof structure is almost entirely timber, with each layer exposed from below, from the primary rafters to the cedar shingles. Rainwater from the roof is collected for use by the school gardening club, who were instrumental in the planning and planting of the regenerated site. A four-metre-long table, built from a single slab of cedar, is a flexible setting for outdoor lessons, activities, and informal gatherings throughout the year.




One boundary of the site is marked by an enormous perspectival mural by local artist Tom Elliot – painted onto the back of a roadside advertising hoarding – which visually extends the micro forest into a seemingly infinite magical realm.
Since its completion, this simple piece of architecture has enabled the school to run outdoor lessons throughout the colder months, giving children essential opportunities to connect with and learn from nature, sheltering under the curving canopy when the weather turns against them.