Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects

Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior PhotographySayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior Photography, Windows, FacadeSayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior Photography, Windows, FacadeSayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior PhotographySayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - More Images+ 8

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Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior Photography, Windows, Facade
© Jack Hobhouse

Text description provided by the architects. On a sliver of land just four meters wide, Sayer Street packs in the infrastructure to support all the social life which characterizes London’s best-loved high streets. Set against the construction hoarding for mixed-use development within the Elephant Park masterplan, the project complements the recently opened terrace of cafes and restaurants on the south of Sayer Street until the other half of the high street is complete.

Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior Photography, Windows, Facade
© Jack Hobhouse
Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior Photography, Windows, Facade
© Jack Hobhouse

The temporary nature of the scheme allows it to test responses to some of the existential questions facing town centers across the country, including how to balance the implications of the emerging experience economy against the continuing need for civic spaces that define a sense of belonging in the city.

Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior Photography
© Jack Hobhouse
Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Interior Photography, Chair, Garden, Patio, Courtyard
© Jack Hobhouse

Our response takes the form of a linear folly. Undulating canopies shelter event spaces and seating nooks, interspersed with lush planting and three compact workspace pavilions. The entire assemblage sits within a framework of brightly colored scaffold and lighting that draw the eye ever further down the street.

Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Image 12 of 13
Courtesy of Jan Kattein Architects

These, for us, are the pleasures of walking in the city: reasons to wander, opportunities to meet, and vantage points for watching life go by. Abundant exotic planting is a central part of the spatial experience, softly enclosing areas within the folly. A community radio station, a flower shop, and an art gallery art the first workspace tenants completing our high street microcosm with retail and cultural activity.

Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior Photography
© Jack Hobhouse

Once the development behind is completed in three years’ time, the modular scaffold that makes up the superstructure will be struck, and the workspace pavilions, manufactured off-site, will be re-deployed at a school, community space, or elsewhere within the regeneration site.

Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects - Exterior Photography, Facade
© Jack Hobhouse

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Address:London, United Kingdom

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
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Cite: "Sayer Street / Jan Kattein Architects + BD Landscape Architects" 29 Apr 2022. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/980948/sayer-street-jan-kattein-architects-plus-bd-landscape-architects> ISSN 0719-8884

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