The Cabin on Feltham Green
Hounslow Council is delighted to announce that construction of the Cabin on Feltham Green has started and is due to be completed during the autumn, 2024.
We hope that the Cabin’s distinctive and low carbon design will signal a new level of ambition for everyone who lives, works or studies locally and create a renewed sense of ownership and pride in the town centre. Its highly visible position in the centre of the town will form an integral part of both the natural landscape provided by the Green and the urban landscape of the adjacent High Street.
Purpose of the Cabin
The Cabin will provide a visible and friendly space to engage the community and welcome visitors. Its principal purpose will be to provide a base for the Friends of Feltham Green and to create a central hub for Feltham’s many and varied local activities hosted by different community groups and public sector services. It will also provide much-needed storage for tools to support community gardening and litter picking.
The Cabin has been designed to be used flexibly, for example as a pop-up museum/art gallery/ exhibition venue/ meeting room/workspace. The Cabin will also provide a venue for people from across the world who come to Feltham to celebrate the life of a one-time resident, Freddie Mercury.
The Friends of Feltham Green aim to make the Cabin available for the public and other local community groups on a ‘cost-recovery’ basis.
The Design
As the Feltham Green Cabin will be the home for the Friends of Feltham Green who will maintain and manage it, they gave input to the design brief, sat on the judging panel and raised funding together with the Council.
The wooden structure will be a 25 square metre (21 square metre internal gross area) single storey building comprising one internal and one covered external meeting space and a kitchenette. There will be internal and external storage areas and solar panels on the roof of the external storage area. It will use low embodied materials, respecting the ecology of Feltham Green and to have low operational energy requirements. The external storage area will be partly enclosed by gabion walls. The design includes three pyramidal roof structures with roof lights at the apex. It will be constructed from wax treated poplar plywood cladding in three colours for the roof and walls, polyester powder coated aluminium glazing and doors, and recycled local material in the gabions. A metal gate will protect the storage area at the rear of the Cabin.
The Cabin will be fully accessible, including generous door openings. The High Street location of the Cabin can provide natural surveillance to help people feel safe when using the building.
Feltham Green Masterplan
The landscape works surrounding the Cabin form part of the Feltham Green masterplan, an ambitious plan to improve the Green. The first stage of delivering the masterplan has also started. This includes creating the Freddie Mercury Memorial Garden and constructing new granite steps at both entrances to the Green from the High Street. Funding has also been secured to create an under-5’s playground area within the fenced-off area of the Green. Completion of the Feltham Green masterplan is dependent on further funding being secured.
Sources of Funding for the design and construction of the Cabin
Many thanks to UKSPF, Hounslow Thriving Communities Fund, GLA Good Growth Fund, A2Dominion and Pocket Parks.
Architect
Burgess Architects won the contract through a two-stage design competition.
Construction Contractor
CBM Building Contractors Ltd won the contract through open tender.
