The Migrateful Kitchen transforms a former classroom space in the Peel Institute’s Three Corners Centre in Islington into a new cookery school for a charity delivering classes led by refugees, asylum seekers and migrants struggling to integrate and access employment.
AHMM has supported Migrateful since 2018, hosting cookery classes for staff at its London office. When Migrateful received £45,000 in funding from the Mayor of London to deliver a cookery school AHMM offered to support the organisation by designing the new school pro bono. Migrateful Kitchen will create a new flexible cookery, teaching, and hosting space, which will act as a venue for events and a home for Migrateful.
The school has been designed with a mix of fixed and reconfigurable elements from traditional kitchen facilities to mobile cooking stations. The focal point of the classroom is the large fixed kitchen workbench where workshop leaders can demonstrate the dishes. In front of this fixed bench 12 bespoke cooking stations (including two adjustable and wheelchair accessible stations) allow workshop attendees to cook along with tutors. Each station is designed to be used by two attendees allowing for classes of up to 24 students. The custom-built stations can also easily be reconfigured depending on the size of the class or moved to the side to accommodate larger events. A key part of the brief was to create a space where all attendees can sit together with the tutors at the end of the lesson to enjoy the food they have prepared. A new glazed door brings much needed daylight to the space and creates a new private entrance and a street presence for Migrateful.
The approach to materials within the space has been to create a simple plywood palette highlighted by tiled zones that celebrate cooking and eating. The tiling patterns are inspired by traditional rugs of eastern and African origin and generously supplied by Domus Tiles.
The Migrateful Kitchen is AHMM’s second pro-bono project in London and has been generously supported with materials, funding and expertise from Clerkenwell suppliers and designers. Local builder 21Construction has delivered the project and XC02 have provided MEP design services. VitrA, Domus, Zumtobel and Caro Communications have all assisted with sourcing fixtures and materials, and the Derwent London Community Fund has also generously supported the scheme.