Blakedown Landscapes has completed delivery of a major transformational redevelopment scheme at the Horniman Museum and Gardens as part of the wider Nature + Love project.
Working as Principal Contractor alongside Feilden Fowles Architects, J & L Gibbons and Focus Consultants, the project has delivered a series of new visitor spaces, landscape improvements and ecological features across the site.
The completed works include the new cafe and Kusuma Nature Play area, new glasshouse and community garden, extensive planting and pathways, and integrated sustainable drainage features designed to respond to the site’s challenging topography and surface water management requirements.
Located within the Kusuma Nature Play Area, the new Gardens Cafe - to be operated by Colicci - has been seamlessly integrated into the surrounding landscape. Designed by Feilden Fowles, the building combines a glulam timber structure with extensive glazing and a cantilevered roof which provides flexible covered seating areas while reducing the visual impact of the building across the site. The design also incorporates measures to improve thermal performance and reduce operational energy demand.
Alongside the build elements, the project has included significant landscape and environmental works, with new swales, rain gardens and below ground bioretention systems introduced to help manage surface water run-off across the steeply sloping site. New planting areas and community spaces have also been created to support biodiversity, education and public engagement with nature.
Gordon Seabright, Chief Executive of the Horniman Museum and Gardens said: “We were delighted to work with Blakedown Landscapes on this exciting phase of our Nature + Love project, and to open these new spaces for everyone to enjoy.
Their knowledge and expertise has helped us to unlock formerly underused areas of our Gardens to improve access and create wonderful new outdoor experiences, ensuring that all our visitors can connect with the natural world, now and in the future.”
Chris Wellbelove, Managing Director of Blakedown Landscapes, said: “This phase of the Horniman Nature + Love project has seen a significant transformational redevelopment which we have been proud to deliver. The multi-disciplinary scheme combines significant build elements with landscape construction, sustainable drainage and ecological improvements across a sensitive and highly visible public environment. The completed works deliver a range of new visitor spaces alongside significant landscape and ecological improvements, supporting biodiversity, accessibility and public engagement with nature.”
The Nature + Love project has been supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and will also see the redisplay of the historic national history gallery, opening in early 2027.
