There is a true lack of spaces with a sense of belonging in London: spaces for expression, adventure and danger (in the good sense) are decidedly lacking. Improving access to and awareness of the natural environment, this project provides learning and care facilities to Camberwell’s marginalised youth.
The centre of the project is housed in a series of town house-style buildings which explore the possibilities of straw bale and cob construction. The buildings are woven into a series of therapeutic landscapes which form an accessible, multi-sensory environment designed to promote well-being, serving as both an open access youth centre and sheltered home.
Situated on the Valmar Trading Estate, this scheme embraces the wilding of former industrial infrastructure such as gas cannisters, beckoning nature into a landscape where it was once rebuffed. In doing so, it fosters environmental awareness by creating new relationships with the outdoors through celebrating the earthy, dirty, dominant forces of nature that are present yet shunned by urban spaces.