The Wahaca Southbank Experiment by Softroom Architects and a mural by Tristan Manco; photo by Joseph Burns
Eight recycled shipping containers have been converted into a new pop-up branch of London’s popular Mexican eatery, Wahaca, by the London-based practice Softroom Architects. The brightly-coloured, riverfront structure was erected on Southbank, right in front of the contrastingly monolithic Queen Elizabeth Hall, to coincide with the Southbank Centre’s summer-long Festival of the World. Boasting a dining area spacious enough to accommodate 130 guests, the Wahaca Southbank Experiment will remain open until at least January 2014.
The Wahaca Southbank Experiment by Softroom Architects; photo by Joseph Burns
More about the project:
‘The Wahaca Southbank Experiment is a new two-storey temporary restaurant installation, constructed from eight recycled shipping containers that have been ‘washed up’ on to the outdoor terrace of the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre this summer.
‘We developed the idea for using the shipping containers not only to remind visitors to the restaurant of the working history of this part of the river, but also for more practical reasons as their limited height allowed us to be able to fit two floors in to the volume of a single storey space.’
The Wahaca Southbank Experiment by Softroom Architects; photo by Joseph Burns
The interior of the recently-opened pop-up branch of Wahaca; photo by Joseph Burns
The colour palette recalls that of the vibrantly-coloured Mexican street markets; photo by Joseph Burns
The riverfront view; photo by Joseph Burns
The Wahaca Southbank Experiment by Softroom Architects; photo by Joseph Burns
The delivery of eight containers which are now a new, temporary home to Wahaca restaurant; photo courtesy of the architects
The eight recycled shipping containers being stacked atop of each other; photo courtesy of the architects
The Wahaca Southbank Experiment and the solemn, concrete Queen Elizabeth Hall; photo by Joseph Burns
to the Softroom Architects wensite
