North Acton Village Hut

The North Acton Village Hut is a community space commissioned by The Republic of Park Royal and delivered as part of London Design Festival 2025. Positioned at the centre of a new village at North Acton Square, the project acts as both a public building and a live prototype for an alternative approach to construction.

Developed in collaboration with ReCollective and Social Designs, the project explores how reclaimed and biogenic materials can form the basis of a scalable, affordable building system. At its core is a modular cassette structure made from reclaimed timber and straw bales, designed to minimise material use, reduce cost, and simplify construction.

Approximately 90% of the timber used was sourced from film industry waste streams and repurposed into prefabricated floor, wall, and roof panels. The building envelope is intentionally pared back, avoiding unnecessary layers and allowing each material to perform its role directly.

The internal clay plaster was produced using excavated material from a nearby HS2 site and developed in collaboration with Rescued Clay at Minerva Works, transforming a local waste stream into a functional and expressive finish.

Alongside the build, the project hosted a series of hands-on workshops, engaging over 80 participants in natural building techniques and creating opportunities for broader access to construction skills.