The Big Shed

KAST was approached by Community Roots, a community growing project based on the north coast of Cornwall, back in 2023. Their aim was to acquire funding for a new building to enable the group to expand their already thriving market garden which grows seasonal vegetables to sell to the local community via subscriptions to weekly food bags.

Eponymously known as “The Big Shed”, the new facility sits immediately adjacent to the vegetable growing areas and “The Little Shed”, with a covered veranda providing a sheltered threshold between indoors and out. A pair of sliding doors allow for free movement from the allotment to the industrial equipped kitchen – a useful resource for catering, classes, or preserving produce from the garden.

The building is fully accessible with step free entry making the building and the beautiful nature friendly biodiverse market garden inclusive and welcoming for all the community. The main space is served by a modest office, storage for vegetables and a certified Changing Places WC.

The simple barn-like form is fully timber framed and clad in UK grown thermally modified Ash, while the roof is finished in a profiled metal sheet with a full array of PV panels on the south facing side. The highly insulated and air-tight building has been designed to ensure it provides a year-round comfort and low running costs for its users.