British forests are at a crossroads. Monoculture plantations must shift towards diverse, climate-resilient woodland to combat the growing pressures of climate change, disease and ecological vulnerability. While the UK can grow this resource, it underuses its domestic timber, relying on imports for over 80% of construction supply. In a climate emergency, this dependence is fragile.

The Next Rotation investigates whether the way we build can be shaped by this transition: from monoculture extraction to mixed-species stewardship.

Situated within Thetford’s public forest estate, the project proposes a Forest Hangar at Roudham. A phased building grows with the forest across one 70-year rotation. Early phases use green timber, roundwood and sawn sections from the pine plantation, establishing first shelters and working thresholds. As the forest matures, the programme expands into production, research, and civic learning, before mixed-species timber forms larger glulam and CLT spans.

By synthesising anthropic activity with natural cycles, the project argues for a slow forest grown architecture, shaped by the climatic, ecological, and material realities of Britain’s next rotation.