Tracing back to its material source, the design concept for the timber structure mimics the vertical stretch of a tree, sinking its roots into the existing structure of the mill and growing upwards in a network of timber rafters that mimic tree branches. Like a modern take on the glass house, the structure preserves the warmth, texture and scent of woodgrain inside, flipping the role of the high-rise to contain and celebrate nature rather than exclude and defy it. Urban Agency’s vision is reverent of the mill’s past and has grown out of this history to provide a future of sustainable living granted by the enormous potential of wood.