Waterloo City Farm/

Feilden Fowles

United Kingdom

Project Details

Location

Location(City/Country):

London / United Kingdom
Tipology

Tipology:

Mixed-Use
Year

Year (Design/Construction):

2015 / 2017
Area

Area (Net/Gross):

- / 2066 m2
Operational Carbon emissions

Operational Carbon emissions (B6) kgCO2e/m2/y:

-
Embodied Carbon emissions

Embodied Carbon emissions (A1-A3) kgCO2e/m2:

-
  • The buildings have been designed with prefabricated timber frames with mechanical fixings that can be disassembled easily and reconfigured in the future.
  • The masterplan and structures of the farm have been designed to demonstrate a rational and low-cost architecture, providing a model typology for contemporary workspace and educational facilities.

Project description as provided by the Architects.

Waterloo City Farm was established in 2014 on a formerly neglected plot south of Westminster Bridge. Owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and developed under a meanwhile-use lease, the 1630 sq m site has been transformed into a collective home for a trio of organisations – Jamie’s Farm, Oasis Waterloo and Feilden Fowles – each with a shared focus on education. Despite economic constraints, the group has fundraised together to deliver a masterplan that has created London’s most central urban farm and a verdant amenity for the local neighbourhood.

The narrow rectangular site, bordered by Royal Street and Carlisle Lane, SE1, is bookended to the east by the new barn, and to the west by Feilden Fowles’ studio – both timber-framed pitched roof structures – linked by a central ‘street’ flanked by animal pens, an outdoor kitchen and growing area.

The masterplan and structures of the farm have been designed to demonstrate a rational, highly articulated and low-cost architecture, providing a model typology for contemporary workspace and educational facilities. The site creates a range of educational environments, from the spacious barn, which features an intimately-scaled interior classroom, to the active outdoor areas which host activities such as gardening, carpentry, cooking, animal care and lambing, to the quieter, contemplative walled garden.

The forms and materiality of the structures have been inspired by typical agricultural buildings. Each building has been designed as a prefabricated timber frame that can be disassembled easily and reconfigured in the future – in acknowledgement of the impermanence of the site – and utilises mechanical fixings that can be removed without damage, allowing for a second life.

During the phased development since summer 2014, the farm has regularly hosted local schools, as well as adults, community evening classes and cookery clubs. Wiltshire-based Jamie’s Farm has expanded its youth activities to enrich the experiences of children in London, working alongside local Southwark charity Oasis, which works with schoolchildren as well as collaborating with mental health charities and alcohol rehabilitation groups, providing group and one-to-one support. The farm also houses events such as jazz evenings, workshops, markets and group gardening days, bringing people together and providing a welcome destination for the diverse local community. The barn is also available for private hire, generating revenue to support the valuable activities and facilities offered on the farm.

Client: Oasis Waterloo Hub, Jamie’s Farm

Architects: Feilden Fowles

Structural Engineer: Peter Laidler, Structure Workshop (studio and farm)

Landscape Design: Dan Pearson Studio (courtyard garden)

Building Contractor Animal pens: Nick Dowling

Barn timber frame and east gable: Timber Workshop

Cladding and classroom: Mansel Land

Studio timber frame: Timber Workshop

Cladding and fit out: Miles Builders

Lighting Design: Education barn: Re-Lit (of Michael Grubb Studio)

Photography: © David Grandorge © Peter Cook

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