A wooden veranda built with sustainable timber construction features potted plants, a bench, and metal chairs overlooking fields and distant hills under a partly cloudy sky. Sunlight casts gentle shadows across the veranda.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

A modern wooden house featuring birch timber construction, a partially covered veranda with potted plants and a chair, set in a rural area surrounded by green trees, grass, and other houses under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

A modern modular wooden house with large windows sits under a partly cloudy sky; three people relax at a table on the front decking, and a car is parked to the right on dry grass. Trees and fencing are in the background.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

An elderly man and woman sit outside a wooden house, separated by a small table. The woman holds a dog on a lead. Both relax under the shade of spruce trees on a sunny day.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

A small modular wooden house made of birch, with solar panels on the roof, a red-framed window, and a porch with a bench and potted plants under a blue sky.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

A diverse group of young people are sitting and laughing together on hay bales inside a birch timber construction barn, enjoying each other's company in a relaxed, casual setting.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

A group of twelve young adults sit and laugh together on stacked birch hay bales inside a wooden barn, enjoying each other’s company in a relaxed, rustic setting.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

Cosy spruce-panelled living room with exposed beams, a TV on a chest, bookshelves, armchairs, a pet bed, and sunlight streaming through a window. An open doorway leads to the kitchen and dining area.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

Aerial view of a modular square building with a green roof and central open courtyard. Solar panels line one side, whilst people sit on a terrace surrounded by dry grass, highlighting the use of sustainable timber construction.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

A modern, single-storey spruce building with large windows sits on a gravel car park, surrounded by dry grass and a few small plants under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. Houses and trees are visible in the background.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

Three people stand and talk near a metal gate on a sunny farm. With houses and barns featuring sustainable timber construction in the background, a clear blue sky and scattered clouds stretch above, whilst part of a wooden shed is visible on the right.

Next House, NBAU 2021 by Studio Bark et al. Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022

A group of people work on a wooden structure with geometric shapes in a grassy area, embracing reuse and sustainability, with houses and trees in the background on a sunny day.

A group of people work together on building a wooden structure with sustainably sourced materials in a grassy field, surrounded by rolling hills and trees under a partly cloudy sky.

A partially constructed timber building stands on a rural site as two people in white hard hats work nearby. The timber construction is surrounded by open fields, trees, and distant hills under a cloudy sky.

Several unfinished wooden cabinets or boxes, crafted from sustainably sourced timber, are arranged outdoors on reddish soil near a building site, with a wheelbarrow and wooden planks visible in the background.

A man in a red shirt and blue shorts stands among large wooden crates, highlighting the potential to reuse materials. Another person is blurred in the background, with natural light streaming in from the right.

A room with walls, floors, and steps made of sustainably sourced, light-coloured plywood. A wooden box with handle cut-outs stands upright in the centre. Sunlight enters through a tall narrow window covered by a sheer white curtain.

Two people assemble wooden furniture in a workshop filled with stacked, sustainably sourced plywood pieces. One person uses a power drill whilst the other holds the wood steady. Sunlight streams in, and trees are visible through the open entrance.

Six people wearing hard hats work together to lift and position a large wooden beam, showcasing the reuse of materials on a construction site surrounded by wooden blocks, steps, and trees in the background.

A person wearing a white hard hat, blue shirt, brown trousers, and work boots installs a sustainably sourced wooden panel at a construction site. They are standing on a lower beam and reaching up to secure the tall frame.

A doorway in a light plywood wall reveals two outstretched arms inside, one passing a small, sustainably sourced wooden block to the other. The room has unfinished wooden shelves and black material above.

A partially constructed room with unfinished wooden floors and walls made from sustainably sourced timber, scattered tools and materials, and sunlight streaming through a window, casting long shadows across the floor.

A wooden mallet, upcycled and full of character, rests on the windowsill of a room with unfinished wooden walls. Soft natural light comes through the window, highlighting the wood grain and texture.

A group of people work together to construct a wooden house frame on a dirt plot, using sustainably sourced building materials and planks scattered around the site under a cloudy sky.

Exterior wall of a building under construction with exposed timber framing, black weatherproof barrier, visible window frames, and wooden beams laid out for a deck or floor structure, highlighting sustainability in modern building practices.

A building site with a ladder leaning against a partially built, upcycled structure, surrounded by earth and wildflowers, overlooks rolling fields and distant hills at sunset.

Nest House

Nest House is a very special collaborative project for a 3 bedroom, accessible, eco-home. U-Build supplied the full structure for the building, including: floors walls, roof, internal walls and doors, guidance on material and details specification and on site support. The project was designed by Studio Bark, who achieved planning permission for the client, and guided them through the technical detailing stage. The project was ran by Studio Bark Projects, under their groundbreaking No Building As Usual initiative, which supports students from diverse backgrounds to engage in and learn more about environmental construction.

Key innovations for the building include:

-No concrete foundations! Instead the building is supported on a compacted hardcore base, with adjustable (and removable) modular support feet.

-No primary beams – Instead the U-Build boxes (maximum 2.4m in length) lock together to form a structural slab for the floor and roof

-No fossil gas! Instead the whole building runs on DC electric, using solar panels, battery and intelligent Infrared heating to dramatically reduce the building’s operational energy. And this is before we count the 300mm thick walls, providing U-Values of 0.15W/m2k.

This is one of the largest and most challenging collaborative builds we have undertaken to date, and it goes to show that there are real alternatives to the ‘business as usual’ method of construction.

Completed project photographs by Jim Stephenson

In construction photographs by Andy Billman