Green Shed is a small-scale project materialising large-scale ideas, designed to involve a great number of people in its making.
This project is a fleet of mobile garden ‘pods’ carrying gardening tools, soil and plants, towed behind bicycles to enable various community planting events which take place in Tolworth. This project forms part of the ongoing community-led regeneration programme called SHEDx established by the local community interest group The Community Brain. The SHEDx programme is designed to harness and develop Tolworth’s community spirit and to pursue the talents and ambitions of its inhabitants, in order to ensure that communities are actively involved in shaping positive changes in the area.
The structure of the Green Shed takes inspiration from bikes all around the world which carry large loads. The lightweight aluminium frame is mounted on the bicycle cargo wheels, fabricated in the Sugarhouse Studios in Bermondsey by the interactive designers and makers Andrew and Sitraka. Its vertical proportions and tired cantilevered containers express the idea of growth. The hinged walls open to give access for tools and equipment stored inside, revealing the hidden roof light above.
The walls are clad in cedar shingles individually decorated by the children of Knollmead Primary School. Architecture students from Kingston School of Art conducted a series of painting workshops together with members of the Community Brain. The paintings are themed around local nature and wildlife as well as the children’s dreams for the area.
The Tolworth Paint was made from the locally dug clay mixed with linseed oil and rye flour, using a traditional Swedish paint recipe. It reflects the history of clay fields and brick firing in Tolworth which ceased around the 1920s. This material also relates to the ground where plants grow from.
Four different sized pods will travel locally in Tolworth; together, they form a temporary event space, which will in turn help to green the area and display the spirit and pride of the local community.