SITE

Phoenix Wharf site is located in Wapping along the north side of the River Thames, running through London. It is located on the southern side of Wapping High Street which runs parallel with the River Thames and Phoenix Wharf sits in between Wapping High Street and the River Thames.  The building overlooks the River Thames and part of London, both of which are involved in the design concept.

 

CONCEPT

The design concept is a high-end tea room. The main features of the tea room will be the growth, process and consumption of tobacco in an ‘un-natural’ way. The objective of having a tobacco tea room is to help people who want to stop smoking, as consuming tobacco as a tea substance can help you limit your nicotine intake by varying the strength of the tea. The space will also be a place for people who suffer from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease as tobacco can help calm the mind and body.

The tobacco plants will be grown using the method of hydroponics, with the use of recycled water. Growing through hydroponics is thought to be a relaxing and calming process and it is sometimes classed as the ‘un-natural’ way of growing plants.

 

PROCESS

For the process to succeed within these tea rooms there must be space to grow the tobacco plants. To grow plants using the hydroponic system you need spaces in which water can flow in and out to make sure all the roots of the plants are getting enough water. The second key element is having a space where the plants can be hung and laid out to dry before being shredded into pieces for making into tea. There will be pipes and tanks on the upper floors where the collected rain water will be recycled and filtered ready for the use of hydroponics and the public use with drinking the tea.