The Royal Foundation of St. Katharine is an historic East London retreat and conference centre, originally founded in the 12th Century, and located since the 1950s close to Limehouse DLR station. We have worked with the Foundation and the developer Acorn / Galliard over a number of years to develop a long-term vision for the existing complex of buildings here, along with the complete development of their vacant adjacent ‘northern site’.

The Foundation is looking to create a mixed-use scheme on the site, including a community hub and performance space, public reflective space, a community cafe, hotel accommodation, areas for artists, social entrepreneurship, and start-up opportunities, enabled through a significant amount of new housing.

Pending the development, in 2015, we assisted the Foundation in the creation of a Meanwhile Project in line with the Foundation’s aims, including a yurt café, community garden, creative studios and spaces to support a food bank charity and community groups.