Architecture isn't just a career, it is also an adventure.

Concerns about the sustainability of forest resources and ecosystems have been expressed by ecologists, biologists and economists. How can architects help shape plans for the future of forestry.

I spent 12 months working with the worlds largest ecological experiment. The experiment was looking at the 8000sq Ha of secondary forest which was being logged and converted into an oil palm plantation. The aim of the project was to understand how the oil palm industry can create their plantations whilst minimising the ecological damage that that has.

I was working as an architectural assistant to design the overall masterplan along with the first phase on buildings which included the laboratory and library.

We designed and built a small structure to test some of the materials and products. A lot of the trees being felled where taken to a nearby sawmill and converted into veneers. The waste product was called a peeler core. These were used both as structural columns and as a façade treatment.

Other materials included 'bio-crete'. Here, the aggregate was replaced with palm oil husk.