ECO PIONEERS
“I’d always made my stuff from things that people threw away or from natural elements. I became good friends with people working at the recy- cling yards. It really opened up my eyes to how much we throw away, and how diffi cult we make it for people to recycle,” he says. When in 2008 progressive urban planner Rob Adams heard that Joost was building a 100 per cent recycled house, he invited him to construct his concept temporarily in the middle of Melbourne’s Federal Square. “I wanted to prove it could be done, but I didn’t want to just build a show home that people wandered in and out of. I wanted to give them a whole expe- rience,” says Joost. And so the prototype of Greenhouse was born as a pop-up eco-friendly res- taurant with a garden on the roof. It took three months to build, and stood in central Melbourne for a further three months (the pop-up concept has evolved since then, with the Sydney site taking just three weeks to put up earlier this year). Joost says: “In hindsight I must have been mad to build a 500-seat res- taurant and expect the business to break even in three months.” But what he lost in terms of investment, he more than made for in reputation, and interest in the Greenhouse has been escalating ever since. “While we were in Sydney, we even
had representatives from MacDonald's fl ying in from the US to experience the concept," says Joost
BIODYNAMIC FARMING
London, produce will be sourced from the UK’s net- work of biodynamic farms. Biodynamics - developed by Austrian Rudolf Steiner in the 20s - is a holis- tic approach to agriculture based using both practical methods and philosophy. In the UK, the Biodynamic Association represents over 100 farmers, and
W 48
hen the Greenhouse opens in
larger sites include Perry Court Farm in Kent and Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire, owned by ex- racing driver Jody Scheckter. A biodynamic farm is self-
suffi cient in waste creation and disposal, and focuses on creating a unique rela- tionship between people, livestock, plants and soil. Special manure and herb- based formulas used to stimulate the soil and improve fertility. Biodynamic
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soil is said to absorb 25 per cent more car- bon, making it eco-friendly., while the rhythms
of the sun, moon and
planets inform the planting calendar.
Demeter is the certifi ca- tion body for biodynamic farming and food, covering over 40 countries. Details:
www.biodynamic.org.uk
ISSUE 4 2011 © cybertrek 2011
The prototype for Joost's Greenhouse was built in central Melbourne as a temporary project. Since then, interest in the con- cept has sky-rocketed
Until recently, much of Joost’s Greenhouse con- cept had been self-funded, but with the decision to expand around Australia and also to open in London it was clear that more back- ing was needed.
FUNDING PARTNER A friend who had retired aged 39 as CEO of a large publicly-listed company was inspired by the concept, and came out of a short-lived retirement to help grow the business. The pair – Joost with an artistic eye and his partner with a commercial eye – have recently returned from a recon- naissance trip to London where they were looking for suitable sites. “The support we’ve had from London has been incredible, and we were offered some great places,” he says. There were talks about a pop-up site
in Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden or Somerset House, but by then Joost had already decided that the pop-up idea was no longer viable, as he would have to take on a corporate sponsor in order to fund it.
“I don’t mind putting up a restaurant
for fi ve or six years, but not for fi ve or six weeks. As Sydney proved, once it’s up, people want it to stay,” he says. He is near to agreeing a London site, and work should begin this autumn, with an estimated total build cost of around Aus $2m (£1.33m). Acclaimed young British chef Douglas McMaster, formerly of St John in Clerkenwell (who himself created a pop-up restaurant concept – Wasted – in Australia), is now back in the UK to spearhead the London development. On his brief three-week trip to the UK, Joost says he spent as much time
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/TANIA ZBRODKO
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