The Family Kitchen & Shop at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a collaboration between HOK’s London studio, Mizzi Studio, Lumsden Design, Mulroy Architects and CityAxis. The project celebrates nature, health and wellness.
HOK’s design of the timber-frame building focuses on sustainability and links guests to the natural landscapes found throughout the gardens.
“Sustainability is at the forefront of the client’s approach to its global research, and it was important that this exciting new facility reflected this ethos,” said HOK’s Stuart Ward, project architect. “The regular rhythm of the fully glazed main facade is a nod to the existing architecture elsewhere in the Gardens. The building’s exposed timber frame is environmentally friendly and offers a visual and tactile link to the natural world.”
Following the Kew’s commitment to become ‘Climate Positive’ by 2030, the building is on target to achieve BREEAM Excellent certification for sustainability and boasts an embodied carbon reduction of more than 50 percent against industry benchmarks.
A new magical, fantasy world has landed at Kew Gardens. Designed by architecture studio HOK with front-of-house interiors by Mizzi Studio and Lumsden Design, the new Kew Gardens café is the latest addition to London’s favourite botanical site. Created using conceptual and physical nods to nature—from colourful shapes that allude to flowers, to a timber building frame made following principles of sustainable architecture—this new addition is a real architectural must-visit for the whole family.
The sustainable restaurant follows on the success of the recently opened Children’s Garden at Kew. The attraction, which is located nearby, works together with the new building to highlight the gardens’ overall commitment to an environmentally friendly approach (Kew Gardens aims to become ‘climate positive’ by 2030) and learning for children – not only helping young visitors learn through clever design, but also enhancing the visitor experience through functionality with a fun twist.