Matt Robinson (b.1967) does all the design work in his purpose built studio (a converted farm building). He is self taught, having first learned perspective drawings and then learned how to make buildings during the project management and actual building of various projects. He is renowned in Cornwall for having reintroduced the craft of cob walling (raw earth building) to the County in 1995.
Actual experience in building has been supplemented by courses in green oak carpentry (CAT & the Greenwood Trust) and furniture making (Parnham House). Formal education extends to a degree in Philosophy & Psychology (PPP) from Magdalen College, Oxford University (2:1)1986 .
Matt Robinson is a qualified BREEAM 'Codes for Sustainable Homes Assessor' - this is a way of judging new dwellings on their environmental performance in a range of 9 categories such as energy efficiency, water use, environmental factors such as noise and access to natural daylight, etc. The code is good at looking at the performance of a building in use; it is woefully inadequate on the use of environmentally benign materials in actually building a new house but this is knowledge that Matt has developed over the course of his professional career.
Our workshop focuses on timber, and innovative projects such as the garden buildings, bridges, sculptures, and on the signature components for buildings designed by Matt Robinson. For larger projects and jobs that cannot be fitted into our schedule, we subcontract to known contractors who specialise in precisely that aspect of joinery window or green oak carpentry. Successful delegation is achieved through accurate and appropriate drawings, and giving the right job to the right type of maker.
Environmental Statement
Our work is entirely bound up with sustaining the beautiful English landscape that we have inherited. We therefore use products that are both taken from and sustain this landscape: for instance we predominantly use locally grown timber supporting local woodlands and producers. For us, 'sustainable' means 'sustaining the landscape'. When oil runs out, that is all that we will be left with.
We believe it spiritually important to use the local geology to build structures that are grounded in their location: our buildings fit into their landscapes because they are made of their landscape. This path is also the most energy efficient, and it produces buildings that are directly connected to the pre-industrial vernacular that we all admire. If you want a low impact building, look at the countless examples built before the industrial revolution.
Wherever possible we use plant and animal based materials in the 'raw'. Less processing means less energy. We avoid industrial products such as plywood and plastics. We avoid chemicals in building by using durable timbers in exposed locations ; and by sound architectural detailing. All of these ideals are inevitably tempered by the client's budget, the price of labour, the need to address modern building codes as well as our sense of architectural wit.
Awards
2010 Scheduled Solo exhibition for the Royal Cornwall Museum, May to August
2008 Timber talent in the South West, mixed show at the CCNW, Exeter & the Architecture Centre, Bristol
2006 WoodAwards finalist - Malthouse Barn
2002 Civic Trust Award - For the cob walls on Alice's Seat, Trebah
2001 Cornish Buildings Group - Restoration award for the 'Chapel' Manaccan
1999 Cornish Buildings Group - Recommendation for the restoration of Caervallack
Recent Publications
2008 August issue 'English Garden' magazine
2008 May issue 'Country Living' magazine
2006 Issue No. 25 'Mortice & Tenon' magazine (Carpenters' Fellowship) - front page and 4000 word article on the Cloister Bridge
Actual experience in building has been supplemented by courses in green oak carpentry (CAT & the Greenwood Trust) and furniture making (Parnham House). Formal education extends to a degree in Philosophy & Psychology (PPP) from Magdalen College, Oxford University (2:1)1986 .
Matt Robinson is a qualified BREEAM 'Codes for Sustainable Homes Assessor' - this is a way of judging new dwellings on their environmental performance in a range of 9 categories such as energy efficiency, water use, environmental factors such as noise and access to natural daylight, etc. The code is good at looking at the performance of a building in use; it is woefully inadequate on the use of environmentally benign materials in actually building a new house but this is knowledge that Matt has developed over the course of his professional career.
Our workshop focuses on timber, and innovative projects such as the garden buildings, bridges, sculptures, and on the signature components for buildings designed by Matt Robinson. For larger projects and jobs that cannot be fitted into our schedule, we subcontract to known contractors who specialise in precisely that aspect of joinery window or green oak carpentry. Successful delegation is achieved through accurate and appropriate drawings, and giving the right job to the right type of maker.
Environmental Statement
Our work is entirely bound up with sustaining the beautiful English landscape that we have inherited. We therefore use products that are both taken from and sustain this landscape: for instance we predominantly use locally grown timber supporting local woodlands and producers. For us, 'sustainable' means 'sustaining the landscape'. When oil runs out, that is all that we will be left with.
We believe it spiritually important to use the local geology to build structures that are grounded in their location: our buildings fit into their landscapes because they are made of their landscape. This path is also the most energy efficient, and it produces buildings that are directly connected to the pre-industrial vernacular that we all admire. If you want a low impact building, look at the countless examples built before the industrial revolution.
Wherever possible we use plant and animal based materials in the 'raw'. Less processing means less energy. We avoid industrial products such as plywood and plastics. We avoid chemicals in building by using durable timbers in exposed locations ; and by sound architectural detailing. All of these ideals are inevitably tempered by the client's budget, the price of labour, the need to address modern building codes as well as our sense of architectural wit.
Awards
2010 Scheduled Solo exhibition for the Royal Cornwall Museum, May to August
2008 Timber talent in the South West, mixed show at the CCNW, Exeter & the Architecture Centre, Bristol
2006 WoodAwards finalist - Malthouse Barn
2002 Civic Trust Award - For the cob walls on Alice's Seat, Trebah
2001 Cornish Buildings Group - Restoration award for the 'Chapel' Manaccan
1999 Cornish Buildings Group - Recommendation for the restoration of Caervallack
Recent Publications
2008 August issue 'English Garden' magazine
2008 May issue 'Country Living' magazine
2006 Issue No. 25 'Mortice & Tenon' magazine (Carpenters' Fellowship) - front page and 4000 word article on the Cloister Bridge
