Bradford Organic Communities Services

Budget

TBC

Located within the heart of Wibsey Community Gardens, this proposal introduces a modest yet impactful intervention: a purpose-built Wikihouse café and workshop, designed to support and extend an already thriving community resource. Currently, the gardens are home to a series of productive growing spaces, informal seating areas, and ScrapMagic, a well-loved creative reuse shop housed in a repurposed portakabin. The ambition here is to consolidate and elevate these offerings with a new gathering space that enhances both social and practical activity.

The proposed structure gently nestles into the site’s existing rhythm, using a blend of corrugated metal and timber cladding to echo the functional vernacular of garden buildings, while also bringing warmth and tactility. Skylights punctuate the pitched roofline, inviting natural light into the interior throughout the day. The roof pitch is future-proofed to accommodate solar panels, aligning with the community’s sustainable ethos.

Internally, the plan centres around a flexible café and workshop zone. A compact servery-style kitchen will link directly to the existing kitchen via a covered walkway, while a large central bifold partition wall allows the main space to expand or contract as needed- accommodating everything from quiet toddler mornings to vibrant candle-making workshops and community feasts on bonfire night.

In parallel, the existing Scrapmagic portakabin will be replaced with a new unit, generously donated by Portakabin, and reimagined internally to include both a refreshed retail space and administrative office- delivered through a simple, functional fit-out.

Outdoor improvements- such as new picnic benches and revised seating arrangements- extend the building’s reach beyond its walls, reinforcing its role as a civic anchor within the garden.

This is a community-build in the truest sense: conceived to be constructed by local hands, using the accessible Wikihouse system, embedding both ownership and craftsmanship into the very fabric of the project. This is not just a building- it’s a continuation of a growing, making, sharing culture already deeply rooted in Wibsey.