POP Brixton
Imagine yourself in an oasis. A green oasis in the inner-city, surrounded by, yet separate, from the hustle and bustle of city life. A place unlike anything you’ve seen before; it’s own world. You feel a constant buzz and an exciting energy in the atmosphere. Around you people are cooking, selling jewellery, growing tomatoes, painting – and you stand there with a beer in one hand, a burger in the other, listening to a live band on stage, thinking: “wow”.
Now stop imagining. Because POP Brixton has been created in…you guessed it, Brixton. We partnered with award winning Carl-Turner Architects to deliver this one-of-a-kind project. What we have created is effectively a self-sufficient ‘mini city’ which brings together culture, enterprise, retail and even horticulture – all under one metaphorical roof.
This environmentally friendly campus is made up of 20ft and 40ft up-cycled shipping containers, stacked on top of each other, lego-style. Each container is used for something different; some will in the future offer shared working spaces for startups to grow their business, others are used as studios by aspiring artists and the ground level houses a mix of different retailers and pop-up style restaurants and bars.
Feel like there’s something missing? You’re right. There is also an events space which will host everything from gigs, to exhibitions, to outdoor cinemas for those (one or two) balmy summer evenings.
What makes this project particularly inspiring is its community led ethos. All tenants exchange skills, offer employment, training opportunities and mentoring for locals, and share their experiences in the form of free public talks.