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Funding appeal for the Dalston Pineapple House

This winter we are planning to build a beautiful glasshouse in the Garden – the ‘Dalston Pineapple House’. The pineapple is a traditional symbol of welcome and Hackney has a rich history of famous plant nurseries and ‘hothouses’, where tropical fruits like pineapples were grown. The Pineapple House at the Eastern Curve will be a glasshouse for the 21st century. It will be a warm, welcoming space for visitors to relax and enjoy the Garden even in the coldest weather. The glasshouse will protect delicate plants like our peppers and pineapple sage over winter and allow us to raise herbs and vegetables from seed early in the growing season. It will also mean we can offer our popular children’s workshops throughout the year, create more activities for adults and develop our education programme with local schools.

The Pineapple House will be built next to the Garden pavilion beside the Victorian building which houses V22 artists studios and will have a floor area of approximately 30sqm. The glasshouse has been designed by Felix Xylander-Swannel with MUF architects and will be built in timber, glass and steel. An adjacent brick shed will include a demonstration ‘living’ green roof. We aim to construct the glasshouse by the end of February 2012. We will be involving groups of young people in the construction of the Pineapple House and are currently recruiting a team of volunteers who want to get involved in the project over the winter.

The London Development Agency have already given the project a vote of confidence by contributing funds, and we were the winners of a Timberland Earthkeepers grant earlier this year. We now need to raise £10,000 to make the Pineapple House a reality.

If you would like to make a donation or have a fund-raising idea to help build the Dalston Pineapple House please email Marie at marie@dalstongarden.org

Landscape Institute President’s Award for Dalston

The ‘Making Space in Dalston’ public space programme, which includes the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, has been awarded the 2011 Landscape Institute’s President’s award.

Here’s what the Institute said: “J&L Gibbons, in collaboration with muf architecture/art, were recognised for successfully creating better quality public space whilst “avoiding neighbourhood sanitisation”. The judges said; “This is a strikingly graceful approach to understanding an area, and sets a model for how it should be done.” By resisting the traditional ‘top-down’ approach the practice chose instead to work very closely with local residents, businesses and organisations to develop a shared vision for regeneration. The judges added; “The landscape architects encouraged local partners to take ownership of the projects.”