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Tottenham Pavillion

Tottenham, London. Competition, Public Vote Award, 2020.

1_“The whole is other than the sum of the parts” The south facing sloped field is a cellular structure formed by a variable number - subject to budget - of 1mx1m cross laminated timber planters assembled in situ by the volunteers. 2_During the 6 months The first green shoots in the urban farm should be appearing in the first month; small insects and bees will start to interact with the new field soon after. Workshops for the local community can take place under the canopy with a team of volunteers maintaining the urban farm. 3_After the 6 months The cost of the pavilion and even the time invested with the community should not go to waste after its temporary use. The pavilion proposes an almost zero-waste strategy which is core to the design. The once empty planters are now full of life; they either host edible plants, bulbs or flowering plants. These planters can now be distributed within the local and wider community, promoting a more resilient, healthy and sustainable approach to urban life and creating micro-spots of local biodiversity across Harringay. It is time we reconsider the ways we consume and a project bringing a new balance between life-work-produce in an urban setting can help redefine our relationship with nature and the community. “Thus it is easily conceivable that it may prove advantageous to grow wheat in very large fields (...) ; while the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, and flowers, which requires closer and more personal care, and more of the artistic and inventive faculty, may possibly be best dealt with by individuals, or by small groups of individuals having a common belief in the efficacy and value of certain dressings, methods of culture, or artificial and natural surroundings....” Ebenezer Howard - Garden Cities of To-Morrow (1902).
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