Historic England
Shrewsbury
A café and kitchen for the wider £28 million repair and adaptive re-use of Grade I listed Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings
Cooper8 were commissioned by Historic England to design the café and kitchen for the wider repair and adaptive re-use of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, led by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Our design had to respect the industrial heritage of the building, characterised by hard concrete and brick, low arched ceilings, and metal columns, while creating an efficient, comfortable space for both visitors and the on-site office workforce.
The kitchen was located up a flight of stairs, which presented a challenge to service and flow. To address this, we designed a self-supporting counter to serve as both a food display and serving station. The counter was strategically designed to ensure staff could serve food during peak times with minimal movement between the kitchen and servery, streamlining operations. Understanding the menu was key to this, and we developed initial menu concepts to support the design and layout of the café, ensuring that the kitchen could handle the needs of both a busy visitor attraction and business hub.
The site’s industrial architecture, such as the metal columns, required careful planning. We worked around these features to create a kitchen that functioned well and a comfortable, relaxing seating area. Despite the compact nature of the kitchen, we provided top-of-the-range equipment to ensure it could deliver efficiently, leaving room for future expansion as the site grows into a destination.
We incorporated the tertiary colours from the site’s branding – developed by Hemingway Design – into the café’s interior. These food-related colours, including toasted barley, golden flaxmill, and malt, added warmth to the industrial setting. This created a distinctive look for the café that stood out but still harmonised with the rest of the site.
“The Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, now reborn as a vibrant business hub and destination, stands as a beacon of successful heritage-led regeneration, showcasing the delicate balance between preserving the past and embracing the future.”
– Civic Trust Awards Judges
Photos provided by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
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