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Clockwise, from top right The Hackney School of Food was developed by Surman Weston out of an old caretaker’s cottage in the grounds of Mandeville Primary School; it is designed to allow children to learn about growing and cooking food; a mural, designed by Jean Jullien Studio, depicts the project’s driving values
CASE STUDY SURMAN WESTON:
HACKNEY SCHOOL OF FOOD
Hackney School of Food is a dedicated food education venture aimed at teaching children and adults from across London how to grow, prepare and cook delicious, nourishing food while also uniting a community around gardening and cooking.
A joint venture between the Learning, Education, Arts and Partnership (LEAP) Federation – a network of three Hackney primary schools – and the charity Chefs In Schools appointed architects Surman Weston in 2018 to help realise their ambitions in creating a food hub. The most optimal site identified was an existing building, a disused caretaker’s cottage in the grounds of Mandeville Primary School, Clapton.
The surrounding land has been transformed into productive vegetable gardens and orchard, while the 59m2
house was stripped
out and the entire first floor removed to create a bright, double-height educational kitchen. The architectural beams to the insulation and roof rafters are left exposed to educate the building’s users as to how the structure is put together, and many of the original finishes and features of the house have been left in place, from the rough plastered and blockwork walls to the bathroom tiles. In this way, the story of the building’s evolution as well as structure is revealed. The architects added interest and atmosphere with a varied palette of materials and textures, a uniform coat of white paint, and contrasting red cementitious floor to bring colour and warmth.
The teaching kitchen is designed to be as accessible to five-year- olds as it is to adults, thanks to height-adjustable cooking and washing stations composed of off-the-shelf components. Professional-grade ovens and equipment ensure that users can achieve their highest ambitions, while allowing the kitchen to bring in extra revenues through hiring itself out for large-scale catering events.
The kitchen garden is designed as a multifunctional growing, learning and entertaining space, for outdoor lessons, parties and banquets. It features large planters of varying heights, the edges of which can double up as seats, sun terrace, fire pit and wood-fired pizza oven. Slatted timber gates have been
placed along the street edge, ensuring visibility and access to the community, and a mural by Jean Jullien Studio, commissioned for a street-facing wall.
Completed mid-2020, children were able to start using the kitchen (albeit in reduced numbers) as part of a summer club programme, and
then through most of the autumn and winter terms. The gardens and orchard are managed by enthusiastic local volunteers, glad to have outdoor time and exercise in one of London’s densest residential areas. It is hoped that this inspirational model will be rolled out across the UK.
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