SHELF TO SOIL.

Shelf to Soil is a biophilic library and ecological learning centre situated along Camden's Regent's Canal, designed to provide the local community with access to gardening, plant education, and green space. The building follows a programmatic sequence that begins with the central library and seed archive, spaces dedicated to storing, sharing, and exchanging knowledge. As users move through the building, they transition into immersive third spaces: a temperate biome and an aquatic biome that offer the physical experience of growth, ecology, and care. These biomes serve as environmental showcases and active learning zones where users can reflect, relax, and engage with climate-responsive planting systems. The architecture integrates passive environmental strategies and organises around a lightweight bio-ETFE cushion roof that harvests rainwater into a central vortex waterfall. The waterfall connects to a shallow pond and stream system that flows back to the Regent's Canal, creating a closed-loop hydrological system that cools the building and supports biodiversity. The project enriches the post-industrial site through porous canal-side landscaping, native planting, bioswales, and uncontained soil zones supporting deep root growth and mycorrhizal networks, transforming the site into a living infrastructure. 'Shelf to Soil' reimagines the library as an evolving civic ecology rooted in care, exchange, and environmental regeneration. It is 'Shelf' to 'Soil'.