By Feilden+Mawson LLP

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Connection to Harringay Warehouse District

Historic – As an epicentre of a modern, vibrant and evolving textile industry, the pavilion roof gives a playful nod to the role of this sector in the development of the local area.

Architectural – The pavilion references the architectural language of the warehouse district though the material choices and the use of bold colour.

Social and Cultural – The space is a celebration of the ethos of community cohesion and self-build; all of the site furnishings will be easily moveable, stackable, and transformable to allow people to be owners and inventors of how they occupy the space.

Proposal Outline

Historically, up until the 1990’s the Harringay Warehouse district and the wider Lea Valley were the centre of a thriving textile industry within London. Tottenham has also been home to famous textile artists and designers such as Althea McNish, who’s accomplished work throughout the 20th and early 21st century has led her to be called “the first British textile artist of African descent to earn an international reputation”. The area is now reclaiming and reinterpreting this former identity, with many artists and companies contributing to the development of a revived textile sector within London. Many of these include companies & social enterprises are local to the Harringay Warehouse District, such as Albion Knitting Company and Fashion Enter, who have partnered with the local council to provide training and grow a local skill bases in the “fashion and textiles cluster‚Äù. The strong connection to both the industry and the art of textiles is evoked in the striking shape of the folded roof structure. With its eye-catching colour and striking shape, it will act as a temporary landmark to draw people to the site over the course of the LFA programme.

Architecturally, the Harringay Warehouse district has both qualities of ‘hardness’ and ‘softness’ within the architectural expression. The roofs of the warehouses and sheds throughout the area gives it a hard, industrial quality that makes the area feel different than much of residential London. On the inverse, the local community of residents have made the area vibrant by adding art and colour throughout the streets and public spaces. Inside the warehouses, a softness of light, plantings, and artists’ studios is apparent. This duality of materiality and aesthetic was important to bring into this design, so the Pavilion feels like an open-air continuation of the district.

Socially, the Harringay Warehouse District has developed to be an autonomous and influential community of artists, creators, makers, etc.. Through the design, we wanted to reference and celebrate the concept of community creation within our design. We envision all of the site furnishings to be easily moveable, stackable, and changeable. After all, this is the community’s space and we believe that they should be the owners and inventors of how this space is occupied.