Zac Monro Architects

Brixton Café

We submitted the proposal for turning the disused underground WC building into a café, music school and sustainable hub as part of Brixton Green, as part of a competition for Lambeth Borough Council.

The new single story building is fully integrated into the landscaping of the square, the café rising-up gently from ground level as if extruded from the ground. The permeable nature of the structure and its daytime and night time activity will provide a more useable, enjoyable and safer public square serving flexible outdoor performance spaces and outdoor ‘hanging’ space.

Central to the design is the building’s shape that allows for flexibility. The use of the building and its internal zoning will permit the free music school, the daytime café, the information centre and the jazz club to function independently if needed. Its exterior design draws inspiration from classical theatre design, its shape creating two areas with contrasting attributes:
· First, a smaller venue looking to the north. The audience would make use of the banked seats and steps leading up to the roof of the café building to enjoy the entertainment on offer, a performance from the musicians of the music school for example; and
· Second, a large venue looking south. Using the roof of the café as a stage, this might be used for open-air musical events linked with the London Jazz Festival for instance, or in collaboration with the Ritzy Cinema for open-air cinema viewings in the summer.