#EdibleAvenue

Thessaly Road lies at the perimeter of New Covent Garden Market (NCGM), an area rich in horticultural and growing heritage that is undergoing major redevelopment. In the context of this transition, the Edible Avenue project provides an intermediate animation. NCGM’s neighbouring residents of the Patmore Estate faced a 1km long, 3m tall, dark and unattractive boundary wall topped with razor wire. We were assigned to bring the street to life and create an interface between the existing community and new development.

After holding an interactive community engagement (more info at bottom of page), the wall was painted with a palette of 8 colours that repeat along the length of the road. Our colleague, Mr. Dane, a south London based large-scale mural art specialist, was tasked with creating a continuous white line drawing along the wall, building up a narrative based on feedback from locals. Whilst Mr. Dane was at work rendering the artwork, we installed our sculptural white picket fence breakouts, which playfully emerge through a key area in the boundary wall sitting opposite St George’s Primary school. The site is interspersed with new seating which folds out from the fence. The planters house sensory, edible and ornamental bee friendly planting, that locals helped plant in the first phase of planting in Autumn 2016. Another planting afternoon is planned for May 12th, 2017 to which locals are welcome to join in. It is our hope that local residents continue to enjoy tending the mini gardens as their own.

We’re delighted that the Edible Avenue made the RIBA MacEwen Awards Longlist ‘Architecture for the common good’. Once brutal, the wall now sings with colour and planting. The razor wire is still there but is no longer a point of focus.