Upcycle Kernow - Community

RIBAJ MacEwen Award 2026: Highly Commended

Upcycle Kernow is a community workshop housed in a 1941 RAF Portreath Dispersed Accommodation block. They were keen to improve its energy efficiency and make it a warm hub for the community.

Upcycle Kernow’s approach was that demolition is a last resort.  The materials in the original building -single skin blockwork wall, Ministry of Works steel trusses and an asbestos roof- could be considered low value, however, the starting point for the design -nothing is waste- guided our approach to reuse. 

The original building was very cold and damp. The original idea was to open up the building to allow more light to come in from the South through the roof and give more access to outside to the North. Where light was needed the envelope was punctuated with green-painted timber, triple-glazed windows and doors. Rooflights provide glare-free light for woodworking and sunlit spots for warmth when sewing. 

The cold concrete slab was topped with a warm insulated timber floating floor, finished with oiled OSB. Running the length of the roof are distinctive stainless steel ducts that provide ventilation from the MVHR to what is now a draught-free building, designed to be comfortable through the winter and summer months. 

Following a six month build, Upcycle Kernow opened in April 2025. It now provides a warm, welcoming, light filled space for a weekly repair cafe, tool library and community workshops.

Crow Architecture (lead Architect) with Studio Lane Battersby (stages 1-3 & 5-6), joined by Janie Hinton in Stages 1-2

Interns: Todd Roper, Izzy Tribley, Tarunya Manjunath in Stages 1-2

Principal Designer BR: Crow Architecture

Structural Engineer: Form

Cost Consultant and Principal Designer CDM: Pink Pebble

Contractor: Social Constructs

Materials Reclamation Agency: Recollective

Post Occupancy and Building Performance Evaluation Crow Architecture with Natalie Gawor (RIBA Studio Foundation intern)

Photographs: © David Prior