By Fitchett + Wood

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Connection to Harringay Warehouse District

Our design follows the industrial grain of the Harringay Warehouse District, deriving its material palette from those found around the site as a means of tackling gentrification through providing a structure that can be more easily adopted by the local community. The scheme takes design cues from the local vernacular, whether that the chimney of the old Maynards factory or the corrugated metal of the industrial sheds in order to produce a pavilion more in keeping with the setting.

Proposal Outline

Inhabit is a multi-functional community landmark that artists, makers and musicians can make their own. It is a space to meet, a space to share and a space to nurture. The pavilion acknowledges that the most important part of creating a special space is the people that occupy it and, as such, our pavilion acts as a blank canvas for the local community to take over.

The structure does not introduce any new materials into the area, instead utilising the familiar, industrial vernacular that can be found within the warehouse district to ensure the building is of the area. The steel framed structure takes inspiration the local warehouse palette as well as the efficiency in containerised structures and the stacking of elements. The rough, industrial aesthetic we have gone for aims to encourage the local community to interact with the pavilion, with its elevation acting as a canvas for local street artists as well as providing a dynamic façade that opens up to extend the exhibition space inside out into the public realm.

The pavilion consists of three simple spaces each supporting specific community needs. The first, a meeting space, allows members of the local community a space they can rent out and use both for work and pleasure, whether that be a location for a much-needed business meeting or an evening social space, huddled around a fire to keep warm. The space centres around a focal fire place that is ventilated by the chimney that extrudes to form a local point of interest.

The second space is a large, flexible event space that can be used for a wealth of different uses such as gallery evenings and theatre performances. During gallery and exhibition events, the wall panels to the street elevation pivot to exhibit artwork to those passing by to create added interest for the event. For events involving audiences, these pivoting panels are securely locked and the seating area then occupies this space with the performance area being located in the double height section, allowing sets to be hung and supported by the beams above.

The final space is a stretch of community garden that occupies the remainder of the site, again providing the community with a greater say over the appearance of the building. External panels integrated with trellis allow the pavilion to blend into the garden space, with the two areas merging together with plant growth over time.