The front yard at Cockpit Studios is now a public garden — and one with a specific logic. Designed by Sebastian Cox and Imogen McAndrew, the new craft garden occupies the south-west facing yard that was previously reachable only through a set of double doors from the street, effectively invisible and inaccessible to passers-by. What was a residual, forgotten space is now the first thing you encounter at Cockpit.

The planting was chosen because every species has a use in making. Willow (Salix purpurea) for basketry. Madder (Rubia tinctorum) for natural dye. Flax (Linum usitatissimum) for fibre. Planting beds that contain them are topped with rubble salvaged from the demolition of the old boundary wall render and mural substrate — waste from the construction works given a second purpose at the entrance to a building full of people who work with materials every day.

The large steel gate by Cake Metalwork, formed through the opening cut in the original 1960s boundary wall during construction, now defines the garden's relationship with the street. When the building is open, the gate opens with it: the yard becomes an extension of the public realm, used by the café for outdoor seating and by visitors arriving at what is now the main entrance. When the building is closed, the gate closes too.