In 2014 Satellite Architects completed the River Cottage Cookery School located in Devon, England. The cookery school is one of five buildings that make up the headquarters for the business that has built up around the British TV programme River Cottage. The aim of the cookery school was to create a learning facility that also enabled productivity and promoted sustainable farming and cooking.
Satellite architects have already renovated three existing structures on the site. The cookery school was the first new addition to the rural site. The building is formed of a single – storey gabled structure featuring corrugated cladding, an informal colonnade and a wall of glazing facing out over the surrounding countryside.
River Cottage headquarters has a fully sustainable policy on building materials, energy and carbon output. Including a fully recyclable policy on waste. Satellite Architects acted as the sustainability experts planning a comprehensive strategy developing a site that ensures low carbon emissions and has a fully renewable energy system. A wind turbine and solar panel were installed creating all the sites electricity. The heat for the site is provided by an onsite biomass boiler, which is fired by off-cuttings from the local wood. A water system was developed to collect, and harvest rain water for use on the site, from WC flushing, agricultural and garden production.
Satellite architects fostered relationships with local suppliers and local craftsmen for building materials and techniques. Creating a contemporary building that referenced the language of agricultural barns and sheds.
The cookery school has Panels of corrugated fibre cement creating a ridged surface across the walls and roof of the building. Behind this, a wooden structure of Douglas fir columns and trusses was left exposed, while internal surfaces lined with larch. Wooden islands with stainless steel surfaces, cooking hobs, ovens and fridges furnish the building – creating the workspaces for cookery classes with an emphasis on local, seasonal produce and a "nose-to-tail" approach. Pendant lights hang down from the ceiling to highlight each workspace. There is also a seating area along the glazed wall, offering visitors a view of the landscape while they eat.
Satellite Architects are now currently creating a guesthouse for the River Cottage site.