Grymsdyke Farm is a research facility, fabrication workshop and living-working space for architects, artists, designers.

Grymsdyke Farm

grymsdykefarm.com

Grymsdyke Farm is a research facility, fabrication workshop and living-working space for architects, artists, designers and those interested in materials and processes of making. Based in the village of Lacey Green in rural Buckinghamshire they run workshops, seminars and residencies with the aim of exploring the essential connections between processes of design, making and place. Established over the last five years by Dr. Guan Lee, a practicing architect and lecturer as part of his PHD research, the vision was to create a site in which practitioners and students could have space and time to experiment with materials and design within a specific setting.

The farm houses a woodshop, metal working area and other making spaces alongside digital fabrication facilities. They are particularly focused on casting, rethinking these processes for the 21st century by combining traditional techniques and materials with new technologies including an industrial 6 axis robotic arm. A small staff offer technical support to visitors who work on projects, many of which manifest as elements onsite including a sliding screen, tiles for the kitchen and a 60 person banqueting table. Their current RIBA funded project reconsiders the extraction and use of local clay deposits and will see them work with local communities and expert practitioners and researchers to identify ways in which robotic clay dispensers can work with traditional building practices.