Overview
This project set out to establish a community food growing space on a council estate in central London. Despite the estate management publicly promoting food growing initiatives for tenants, nearly two years of engagement produced no results. The bureaucratic obstruction was so complete that a group of residents eventually decided to act independently.
The solution came through a resident friend who knew an octogenarian neighbour — a passionate former gardener — who happily offered his private garden for the project. The majority of participants had no experience of growing food, so teaching became the primary goal alongside the physical garden design itself.
Methodology
I was less familiar with OBREDIM than with SADIM, so I chose it here deliberately — to experiment and better understand its strengths and weaknesses. There was no other reason for the choice, which is itself worth noting: testing a methodology on a real project is an effective way to learn it.
Working Through the Design
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1
Observation — Reading the Site
Observation was conducted using Patrick Whitefield's four-ways method, which combines intuitive, objective, imaginative and subjective perspectives.
Intuitive — First Impressions
The site felt barren and unprotected. Surrounded by an 8-storey building to the west, a busy road to the north, and open to pedestrians, it had a strongly exposed, institutional quality. The smell of neighbours cooking and the sound of traffic were the dominant sensory impressions.
Objective — Systematic Observations
Soil: stony and poor quality. Climate: exposed to both southerly and northerly winds. No water catchment surfaces. Existing plants: grass only. Animals: occasional birds.
Imaginative — Projecting Forward
Without intervention: overgrown grass within 3 months, pioneer species such as dandelion by 6 months, then scrubland. The monoculture grass offered almost no insect habitat and very little biodiversity potential in its current state.
Subjective — Sense of Place
The imposing building, exposure on all sides, and public visibility made the space feel unwelcoming. The design would need to create a sense of shelter and enclosure to make it feel like a genuine gathering space.
PASE Analysis — Existing Conditions
Plants: Grass only. Animals: Occasional birds. Structures: Flat with west-facing window; wall to north with fence near house; short wall to east. Events: Bin collection — the only regular use of the garden. The owner had previously grown vegetables in the bed under the windowsill.
PASE Analysis — Client Wants
Plants: Herbs, annuals, small shrubs, fruits, salads. Animals: Bees, lacewings, ladybirds. Structures: Seats, food growing beds, compost, winter seedling space, water butts, storage. Events: Social gatherings, harvesting, tea parties.
Base Map
3D basemap created in Google Sketchup Sun & Shade Maps
Sun and shade maps were modelled for each equinox and solstice at four times of day. The key finding: shade falls on the paved (usable) area from just after midday onwards — giving only morning sun for growing.
Annual sun and shade animation — note how quickly afternoon shade covers the growing area 
Spring — 8am 
Spring — Midday 
Spring — 4pm (shade arrives) 
Summer — Midday -
2
Boundaries & Resources
Physical boundaries: No border on the south side (neighbour wanted to build a large fence). Busy road to the north. 8-storey building to the west. Car park to the east. Critically: the lawn area could not be used for growing — only the paved area was available.
Other boundaries: Low food growing knowledge among participants. Exposed site requiring shelter solutions.
Resources: £200 from a charity supporting the garden owner. Seeds and cuttings from my own garden. The owner — in his 80s, a passionate former gardener, happy to contribute knowledge though no longer physically able to garden. Transition Pimlico food group members: no growing skills but genuine desire to learn.
Zones & Sectors
Given the tiny site, zones were simple: immediately outside the back door was zone 1; everything else zone 2. Wind sector analysis confirmed the exposed nature of the site.
Wind sectors 
Zone 1 & 2 
Zones overview -
3
Evaluation — Sun, Half-Day Growing & Constraints
The most significant finding from the evaluation was the half-day sun constraint. With shade arriving from just after midday, plant selection had to focus on species that tolerate or thrive with morning-only sun. This shaped the entire planting plan.
💡 Design Constraint Becomes Design DriverRather than fighting the half-day sun limitation, it was accepted as a design parameter. This is classic permaculture thinking: observe and interact, then design with the pattern you find, not against it. The result is a planting plan suited to the actual conditions. -
4
Design — Garden Layout & Plant Plan
Overall garden design — v0.4 Square Foot Gardening
Given the small space and the need to teach beginners, square foot gardening was used as the production method for the growing beds — clear, measurable, and easily taught.
Square foot plot layout 
Planting plan for the square foot beds Storage, Seating & Composting
Storage design 
Multifunctional: seating + storage + raised bed 
Compost and cloche design 🌿 Design Principle — Each Element Performs Multiple FunctionsThe combined seating/storage/raised-bed unit is a good example of the permaculture principle each element performs many functions. In a small space, multi-functional elements make efficient use of every square metre. -
5
Implementation
Garden taking shape 
Implementation progress
Reflections & Outcomes
Despite nearly two years of bureaucratic obstruction, the project found a way forward through community relationships rather than institutional channels. The garden was established in a private space, with genuine community participation, on a minimal budget of £200.
Teaching became as important as the physical design — perhaps more so. For participants with no growing experience, the real yield was knowledge and confidence, not just food.
Using OBREDIM for the first time on a real project was also valuable. Its more structured observational opening (compared to SADIM) suited a community context well — taking time to really understand the social and physical environment before rushing to design.