Café Roj

The café will help provide all year round facilities for the park including an airy seating area and an accessible toilet. The project was developed with care over the last four years in collaboration with local residents, the café operator, Haringey Council and the Friends of Ducketts Common. An internal seating area encourages people to spend time in the park even in bad weather, while a full drainage connection allows the café to serve a food menu and offer park visitors the use of an accessible toilet. As the business thrives, this part of the park feels busier and better overlooked, reducing the perceived risks of crime. The café’s is clad in a deep external timber framework, creating a play of shadows across its rendered walls through the day, helping it to sit lightly among the mature plane trees which fringe the Common. The building is sited carefully to avoid their roots while ensuring that its compact kitchen and seating area address the park and overlook the park’s entrances. Internally, the simple timber structure is exposed. A deep timber sill runs around the edge of the seating area, reinforcing the connection between interior and exterior through the wide opening window. Internal and external serving hatches allow the kitchen to operate flexibly with minimal staffing. An illuminated orb on the café roof reflects its branding (Roj means ‘sun’ in the operator’s native Kurdish). As well as giving the business visibility across the park and from the busy neighbouring intersection, its gentle glow helps this corner of the park feel safer on dark winter afternoons and evenings.