Woodbury Wetlands

A community cafe in a wetland setting.

Frances was the Project Architect for the conversion of a Grade II Listed coal store in Hackney, whilst working for Kaner Olette Architects in 2015. The building which is located at the edge of the Woodberry Wetlands Reservoir was converted into a cafe/education space for the London Wildlife Trust.

The building was stripped back to expose the original structure and a new catering kitchen was installed at one end of the space using reclaimed timber to form the counter. At the other end a new feature staircase, made by a local ironmonger was installed to enable access to the roof and views over the extensive wetlands.

The project was part of a larger masterplan for the wetlands by Allen Scott Landscape Architects and was formally opened by David Attenborough in 2016.