Client: Hannah Barry Gallery
Location: Peckham / London / UK
Engineers: Price & Myers
Completion: 2009

Materials: scaffolding boards, ratchet straps, red pvc

Brief: Frank’s Café was commissioned by the Hannah Barry Gallery to accompany their summer sculpture show, Bold Tendencies.

The structure consists of nine 50m long ratchet straps that loop around the entire floor plate and lash a bright red PVC canopy to the car park roof. Each strap is supported by a set of three timber columns constructed from reclaimed scaffolding planks bolted together. The café uses a minimal material palette with the structure, bar and furniture all made from the same reclaimed timber. The red roof and ratchet straps were fabricated in a factory that produces drop down canvases for commercial lorries.

Situated on the roof of a 10 story car park, the café has panoramic views of London from the Millenium Dome, past Big Ben and the London Eye to Crystal Palace.

The project was constructed by a unskilled volunteer workforce in 25 days.