Tales From The Urban Forest |

A Festival of Storytelling | 2026

RIBAJ | West Fraser | Storyboard Competition | Shortlisted

The project introduces temporary architectural follies within an imagined forest and civic space. Clustered around urban trees, the Festival of Storytelling explores the potential of timber to connect young visitors to the lifecycle of trees, tracing the material journey from forest to wood and paper. This thematic setting fosters literary imagination with a nod to Winnie-the-Pooh: Tales from the Forest

The follies configure 150m² of internal area to balance independent reading with collective performance. Pairing quiet, contemplative micro-spaces for independent study alongside open clearings structured for communal storytelling .

A Theatre and Listening Terrace host spoken-word events, while user-adaptable seating fills the Big Top alongside a community Tuck Shop offering plant-based snacks. A Book House centralises reading material exchange, contrasted by an elevated Tree Den housing a living tree. Flexible layouts are formed using OSB Zero crates, urban timber blocks, log slices, and bean bags.

Standardised, lightweight modules (2.4 x 1.2m) are built as scenic flats for rapid, flat-packed transport. Scaled through 1:50 models and 1:10 prototypes of the Tree Den and Book House, these adaptable structures easily deploy onto public squares, civic parks, or playgrounds, leaving zero site trace.

All models designed and made by Chung Tyson with local timber supplied by Urban Timber Northwest.