Clapton design studio wants to create a Pocket Garden outdoor space in Hackney
Clapton design studio, Mad-Atelier is fundraising for a Pocket Garden parklet for the parking bays in front of their shop on Median Road.
The parklet will feature planters, solar-powered lighting and timber walls that artists will be commissioned to canvas. It will be a space designed for meeting and relaxing, as well as for live events and workshops.
A total of £2,169 has been raised since fundraising began last week, with a target of £20,921 set for the end of May. The project is one of two in Hackney that are working with Make London, a programme that helps fund community-led projects. Mad-Atelier will potentially receive funding from them in mid-March. The other proposed parklet is planned for Hoxton.
If the funding target is not reached, all donations will be returned to payees.
Hackney mayor Phillip Glanville has been contacted about the proposals. According to Mad-Atelier co-owner Chantal Martinelli, he has been “incredibly supportive” of the plans.
Mad-Atelier is in contact with Hackney to gain permission for the parklet and to formalise parking suspension charges. They are also being supported by Hackney Living Streets, an organisation dedicated to improving Hackney’s public spaces.
Martinelli hopes the Pocket Garden parklet project will be complete in time for summer.
“We have all learned from these lockdowns that it is good to be outdoors and to give more value to outside space,” Martinelli said.
