Anna Gajos

Tittle of the project: Sprout & Supper

Connection is something many of us quietly lack as young adults. With the rise of screen-mediated culture, hyper-busy lifestyles and increased disconnectedness post-pandemic, opportunities to meaningfully interact with those around us have become increasingly difficult to find. Sprout & Supper grew from research into how design can nurture opportunities for these everyday connections to be formed once more, not by pushing us into socialising, but by allowing people to do things together.

Set within a renovated industrial building in Lincoln, Sprout & Supper brings gardening, cooking and communal dining together within a shared environment. Activities revolve around growing, preparing and eating food as a continuous cycle, encouraging conversations to emerge naturally as participants work towards a common purpose. The space was designed around the belief that relationships are formed most naturally when people are engaged in the same task. Sprout & Supper explores how architecture can help rebuild lost connections between people and create opportunities for relationships to blossom over time through simply doing things together. Just as these plants need care, attention and the right environment to grow, so do we.