Okra

Located at Serge Hill in Hertfordshire, The Apple House by Okra Studio is a multifunctional community building dedicated to horticulture, education, and wellbeing. Commissioned by The Serge Hill Project for Gardening and Health, the project was developed in collaboration with landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith and engineers Structure Workshop, and completed in 2024 after a six-year process.


The project reflects a deep commitment to natural materials and local sourcing. Almost everything above ground level is made from natural components: hempcrete walls, cleft oak cladding, and a floor of unfired clay sourced and prepared within ten miles of the site. Together with a spruce glulam frame designed in collaboration with Structure Workshop, these materials create a robust yet inviting structure. 


Internally, the natural finishes remain visible and tactile: lime-plastered walls and the clay floor contribute to a calm, warm atmosphere, while the hempcrete provides both insulation and structural support. The architecture embodies the project’s environmental and social values, demonstrating that material sustainability can be expressed in both performance and experience.


The building’s openings frame distinct views: a woodland to the south, a vegetable garden to the east, and an extensive plant library to the west. These connections reinforce the link between architecture and landscape, supporting a year-round programme of horticultural education and community activities for schools, youth groups, mental health charities, residents, and designers.


With its accessible layout, adaptable spaces, and inclusive ethos, The Apple House provides essential infrastructure for a growing public programme that prioritises access to nature for those who have least opportunity to experience it. The project exemplifies how thoughtful, low-impact architecture can support environmental stewardship and wellbeing through design that is at once robust, welcoming, and deeply rooted in its setting.