Fore Street Library, Enfield, London, UK
Fore Street Living Room Library, a flexible retro-fit is opening up new possibilities for a much-loved library to support local culture & community events.
Major developments down the road in Tottenham and Meridian Water, as well as regeneration of the surrounding Joyce and Snell’s Estate, will bring new opportunities to Fore Street.
For now, residents currently experience incomes among the lowest 10% in England, exacerbated by a poor living environment and high barriers to education, training and employment.
Jan Kattein Architects (JKA) worked with Enfield Council through conversation with local residents, businesses and artists to identify and address these urgent challenges in the immediate term, while building resilience for the long term.
Their shared vision helped Enfield Council secure £2 million from the Mayor’s Good Growth fund to retro-fit the existing Library in a way which enhances its ability to support educational, cultural and community functions, convert defunct garages just behind the high street into affordable workspace for young enterprises and create a new school street to improve air quality, encourage imaginative play and engagement with nature at the local primary school.
Fore Street Library was already well-used during its limited opening hours. However, residents reported a distinct lack of community space, opportunities to develop skills and engage with culture, as well as a town centre which feels unsafe at night.
Stripping back the tired, cluttered elements of the aging interior allows for a light, airy and flexible internal fitout which continues to support core library functions. At the same time, the ability to open the layout to host larger events brings visible cultural animation onto the high street in the evenings.
