A new portable community kitchen, designed by architecture students from Central Saint Martinsin collaboration with Stride Treglown, has been completed at Woolwich Common Community Centre (WCCC) in south-east London.
Built from locally salvaged and repurposed materials, The Circular Kitchen is a modular, reconfigurable outdoor cooking space created to support local food education, communal meals, and seasonal events. Made possible by National Lottery Community Fund support, the project demonstrates the potential of socially engaged design. It reimagines how communities can come together through food, and how waste can be transformed into a valuable resource.
The project originated as a live brief with Central Saint Martins’ architecture students in early 2024. Working with Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses and South London Reclamation, to prototype a kitchen built almost entirely from reclaimed materials, Stride Treglown provided mentoring and practical support to the students, in the week-long workshop that saw them explore circular design through hands-on engagement, ultimately designing a two-part octagonal structure that folds out into a functional, mobile kitchen.
The Woolwich commission evolved from the 2024 design. In April 2025, a second cohort of Central Saint Martins students collaborated with local residents to explore how food connects cultures, builds trust, and supports wellbeing in the area. Through filmed interviews with women’s groups, cooking clubs, gardeners and local boxers, the team gathered insight into how the new kitchen for WCCC could reflect and respond to local life. What has emerged is a structure that’s modular, easy to move and store, and ideal for year-round community use (even on grass) – and can be replicated for other community centres, allotments and knowledge gardens.
By reusing what’s already available, The Circular Kitchen challenges traditional ideas of waste and construction, using creativity to turn reclaimed materials into a lasting piece of shared infrastructure. It reflects a growing movement in the design world to shift from extractive to regenerative practices – especially in how we make, consume, and rebuild with care.
“What makes The Circular Kitchen special is how it’s been shaped by the people who will actually use it,” said Karla Bonner, Part II Architectural Assistant at Stride Treglown. “We began with the student design, then worked closely with the Woolwich Common Community Centre to adapt it into something that really supports their daily activities. It’s gone from being an events kitchen to becoming part of the centre’s heartbeat – serving Afghan and Vietnamese cooking groups, healthy eating classes, and where young people can learn about food as fuel and nutrition. For me, the best part has been meeting people here, and knowing this isn’t a gesture – it’s a tool that genuinely helps amplify what this community already does so well.”
The result is a practical, free-to-use alternative to the commercial kitchen that groups currently have to rent, giving more local people opportunities to cook, learn, and even gain qualifications in food preparation. With a large surface, hob, and sink, the kitchen is designed for demonstrations and communal meals – from meals for those most in need, to the centre’s annual summer party. It is rooted in intergenerational exchange, helping people pass down recipes, stories, and traditions.
“Food is a huge part of what we do here,” said Jane Downes, Manager of Woolwich Common Community Centre. “It brings people together – it’s the glue. Whether it’s cooking lessons, sharing a meal, or just having a chat while something’s bubbling away, food is at the heart of this centre.
“The new outdoor kitchen means we can do even more for the local community here in Woolwich. We’ll be able to run more sessions, build up people’s confidence with cooking, and give everyone a chance to share recipes, stories and traditions. People of all generations in the area can learn from each other – that’s the beauty of it. It’s not just about food, it’s about connection.”
The kitchen was built in partnership with Public Works, with involvement from local volunteers and students. At the final build day in September, the group cooked and shared a meal together – prepared at the Circular Kitchen.
“As London looks to retrofit and reuse more creatively, The Circular Kitchen demonstrates what’s possible when we rethink waste and put community at the centre of design,” said Laura Cassullo, Director and London studio lead at Stride Treglown. “It’s not just about what we build, but how and why we build it – and who we build it with.
“It’s also incredibly valuable for students to understand how the thinking and skills that they’re developing can be applied in different ways to deliver real social impact – architecture is about much more than buildings. The skills they’ve learnt in collaboratively responding to a brief while also considering their impact on people and planet are going to put them on track for success in their careers”.
