The acquisition of Hooke Park in Dorset provides the Architectural Association with a platform from which it can develop groundbreaking educational programmes. A wide range of disciplines will be utilised to explore contemporary issues relating to the environment, sustainability, architecture and the craft of construction. A 'laboratory of experimentation and research' will be developed that will make a significant contribution towards the construction of the physical environment on a global scale.

Hooke Park is a 350-acre woodland in the West Dorset area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Previously developed by an institute researching new uses for wood in modern construction, the Park is organised as a campus and provides the AA with a valuable education and research resource. The ongoing management strategy will continue to be sympathetic to the rich diversity of the woodland's flora and fauna.

The structures at Hooke Park were designed by teams dedicated to pushing the boundaries of building with wood. The Workshop, a collaboration by Frei Otto, Ahrends Burton & Koralek and Buro Happold, experiments with bending green wood and carrying loads across large spans on small-diameter roundwood beams. The Refectory, by the same team, is a prototype for a house, in which the structure hangs like a tent on four A-frames. Westminster Lodge, by Edward Cullinan and Buro Happold, features a grass roof and the extensive use of unmilled, untreated timber.

The AA has mapped out a three-stage plan to develop Hooke Park in a sensitive yet dynamic way. This plan is rooted in the ethos of the place and takes account of the diversity of its natural environment – its woodlands, extensive wetlands, streams, boundary banks and meadows.

The first stage is already under way. AA students working at Hooke Park have begun exploring timber techniques ranging from modelmaking to object fabrication and prototyping. The way in which they develop their projects will be monitored with regard to equipment and training requirements. This information will inform the second planning stage of Hooke Park.

Stage Two will be an equipping and building phase aimed at realising the full potential of Hooke Park and consolidating its relationship to the School in London. This will involve expanding the facilities to include a materials library and a computer workshop with IT links to the AA. The workshop machinery will be reviewed and, where necessary, upgraded to be compatible with the machinery at the AA.

Creating a laboratory of ideas, research and testing will be the final, exciting stage of development. This stage will focus on the use of Hooke Park as a semi-autonomous base for exploring future material concepts in the building industry. The AA will consider developing a site-specific building for this purpose. Hooke Park will act as a showcase for the promotion of experimental sustainable construction.