photography by Michael /Material Cultures, 2024
Material Cultures
Build / Education
London, UK
2024
Harvest House is part of Growing Place, a three-year research and design project funded by re:arc’s Practice Based Funding programme. Led by Material Cultures in collaboration with Black Rootz and The Wolves Lane Centre, the project explores how agricultural infrastructure in urban and rural contexts can be designed and built through agroecological principles, local material systems, and participatory making.
Developed at Pasteur Gardens, a seven-acre urban farm in Enfield, North London, Harvest House responds to the spatial needs of community-led growing sites. It is a flexible, replicable building typology constructed using regionally available materials, basic tools, and minimal specialist skills. Compliant with the UK Caravan Act, it can function as either an agricultural structure or a dwelling, allowing for mobility, adaptability, and simplified planning.
The building was co-constructed through on-site workshops, foregrounding hands-on learning, shared knowledge, and collective authorship. These construction workshops were attended by a broad mix of participants including those with backgrounds in growing and design. They happened over 5 weeks with each week having a particular material focus.
The project offers a regenerative model for construction, with knowledge intended to be openly shared and adapted across other growing and community contexts through a publicly availble set of how-to guides and films documenting the design and build process.
