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Glasshouse provides stunning venue for new Norfolk café, bakery and farm shop

CambridgheHOK has completed the build of a new glasshouse which is to become home to a new café, bakery and farm shop in the heart of the beautiful Norfolk countryside.

It will be used by the ‘Wild Things’ project at ‘Nature's Corner’ in Hoe, near Dereham, after completion and handover in October.

Siting within the 2,000-acre Wendling Beck nature recovery project, the project aims to bring people closer to nature and the living world, with a café offering good food from brilliant local produce.

Wild Things had operated from a temporary home on the site during the summer. offering bakery mornings, wood-fired pizza nights, long-table feasts and collaborations with chefs, growers and producers.

Architect Juliet Moore set out a vision for the CambridgeHOK team to create a stunning new destination – somewhere where people could ‘drink coffee beneath the vines, watch lunch being prepared from the day’s harvest, meet friends, bring the family or simply spend a little longer in the landscape.’

‘A stunning new home’

CambridgeHOK project manager Jason Tether says the vision has certainly been achieved, in a project which brought some construction challenges.

“We were thrilled to attend a launch event recently ahead of the official opening at the end of November, and the glasshouse provides an absolutely stunning and perfect home for this project,” said Mr Tether.

“From the outset the vision was sold to us of providing a space which made people feel close to nature and the surroundings, and this certainly does that.

“The challenge in this project for us was that the glasshouse had to be built on uneven ground, so there was a lot of complex work required to ensure all the levels were right inside. It’s made for a very unique project.”

Although it is being used as a retail and leisure environment, rather than a growing glasshouse, wire trellising was installed by the CambridgeHOK team for climbing plants, enhancing that feeling of being close to nature inside.

Ornamental walls were added by the Wild Things team, with natural materials running throughout the building, from hemp cladding to mycelium lighting.

After an initial five-week build, CambridgeHOK returned to complete the final elements ahead of the opening celebration night last week.

“It’s a great example of how a glasshouse can really create a special, one-off environment, especially for ventures focussed around the produce of local food,” added Mr Tether.

“It was fantastic to see how everything has been brought together, from the kitchen and bakery to the café, with the glasshouse providing a stunning focal point thanks to the work of our team, and also the Wild Things team who have made it look fantastic with all they have done on the inside.”

Wild Things will open its doors on November 26th and will be open daily from 8am to 6pm. It plans to host a number of later evening events throughout the year.

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