Samovar Space

Samovar Space was created by apprentices from the London School of Economics (LSE) Apprenticeship in City Design, delivered and funded by Quintain. With so many spaces in urban design delivered for adults or children, the overarching aim of this project was to design a place where young adults feel that they can simply ‘hang out’. The apprentices’ chosen themes of ‘Collaborate,’ ‘Calm,’ and ‘Consume’ emerged as three ideas and inspired the final design. Flanagan Lawrence collaborated with the LSE apprentices who were led by Dr Julia King from LSE to help realise their vision. Samovar Space takes its name from a large, communal kettle popularly used to brew tea in Eastern Europe and Western Asia for family gatherings and the space epitomises the welcoming and non-commercial spirit that the apprentices wanted their proposal to embrace. The design of the Calm Zone aims to bring the security of the home into the public sphere and offer a public, semi-outdoor living room. The houses are conceived as square in plan, rotated 45 degrees. There is a consistent rhythm of brightly coloured butterfly roofs running the length of the site forming a dynamic roofscape with alternate closed and open roof structures. Brightly coloured roof panels contrast with the natural timber of the structural frame. Visual interest is offered by the slatted screen in each of the three houses. The permeable nature of the screen offers views both into and out of the houses while providing a level of comfort and security for the users of the space. Consume and Collaborate provide outdoor seating and playscape for young adults to gather and engender a sense of socialisation.