Jury Statement: Craft Corner is a house-based open space that offers social space on the intersection between being inside and outside. An architecture-focused design offers shelter, view, restaurant and interesting, more intimate ambiences. The jury appreciated the design of this landscape structure in such a limited space.
As Londoners, we’ve always wondered where tourists go after visiting Tower Bridge. Crossing the river to south London can be confusing for someone who doesn’t know the Borough and/or Bermondsey area. Apart from the historic Borough Market, the rich life of the area isn’t overtly advertised, and the many food and cultural offers are sometimes located in hard-to-find places. But if one looks closely, the neighbourhood is teaming with local trades, galleries, micro-breweries, hydroponic farms
and independent shops that give north Southwark its unique character, within only a 15 minutes walk. From Bermonsdey’s beer-mile, Druid street and Maltby markets to craft workshops for glass blowing and ceramics, north Southwark is full of community-based businesses thanks to government incentives, low-rent commercial spaces under the railway arches and/or historic businesses that have been operating for decades.
Over the past few years, south London’s urban fabric has changed dramatically. Speculative property investments, large-scale developments, tourism and international chains have increased property value and put pressure on small local businesses. Craft Corner is about a tiny site in the midst of it all, sitting between the old and the new, the north and the south.
