The FLOATING Garden
Our water-borne garden on the canal in Kings Cross
A waterside space
The Floating Garden is located on a barge moored on the canal next to Granary Square in KIngs Cross. It aims to create a new destination for learning about and experiencing the natural world on water.
The garden is a space for local young people, families, residents and employees to learn about water and biodiversity, discover wildlife, relax and to connect closely with nature.
Read about some of this work as part of the Voices of the Water project.
Making the Floating Garden
The Floating Garden began life as a co-design project with a group of 16-24 year olds. They explored design inspired by nature, the atmosphere of the canal and imagined a floating classroom created using natural and recycled materials. Jan Kattein Architects took forward the design of the barge, supporting the young people and bringing together their ideas.
The barge itself was originally a Floating Cinema. Through a programme of building with local partners and young people, the barge has gradually been refitted with planters, trellises and roof decks, all overflowing with plants. The interior and exterior continue to be transformed with growing projects, ceramic work, carpentry and mural making. Read more about the making of the barge.
The Floating Garden now features 4 garden decks and an interior classroom, all offering beautiful views across the canal.
“Working with reclaimed materials is unpredictable but they invite us to be inventive. There is joy in breathing life back into something discarded, although there is nothing revolutionary about it; the core values of a circular economy are rooted in our ancestral past.”
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