Stepped Arches Shape the Identity of Woolwich Market Pavilion in London

Studio Weave has completed Woolwich Market Pavilion, a brick-built pavilion housing a café, public toilets, and market facilities, defined by a façade of deep stepped arches.

The project forms part of the regeneration of Beresford Square Market, adjacent to the historic gatehouse of Woolwich Arsenal in southeast London.

Architectural Dialogue with Context

The pavilion was designed to echo the surrounding historic architecture through its monumental chimneys and layered brick arches.
Its brick walls sit atop a plinth of polished red concrete-aggregate blocks, while solid oak was used for window and door frames.

Butterfly Roof and Dynamic Form

A defining feature is the butterfly roof, articulated by a diagonal ridgeline connecting two corners. This creates angled rooflines on all four façades and visually frames the nearby gatehouse turret.

Façade Articulation and Uses

The southwest and southeast façades each feature three arches, forming entrances and windows for the café overlooking the market and a newly created garden.
The northwest façade contains a single arch providing access from Beresford Street, while a larger arch on the northeast elevation integrates entrances to the public toilets and a market utility room.

Public Architecture and Social Value

According to Eddie Blake, co-director of Studio Weave, the building was designed to work on multiple levels, supporting social life through the café while offering dignified public amenities.

Blake emphasised the importance of accessible public toilets as a fundamental component of inclusive urban spaces.

Public Investment and Landscape Design

The regeneration was delivered by the Royal Borough of Greenwich, funded through the UK government’s Levelling Up Fund.
Landscape design was developed in collaboration with Tom Massey, with the garden acting as a soft green buffer to the adjacent dual carriageway.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

Woolwich Market Pavilion by Studio Weave is a compact example of Contemporary civic architecture informed by contextual historicism, where brick construction, stepped arches, and monumental chimneys reinterpret the language of adjacent industrial heritage. Through layered masonry, a red aggregate plinth, and robust material choices, the project establishes clear Material Expression while negotiating scale within the surrounding urban fabric. However, its architectural restraint raises critical questions about Contextual Relevance beyond formal reference, particularly whether symbolic alignment alone can sustain long-term Spatial Dynamics in a market under socio-economic pressure. Yet, the inclusion of accessible public toilets and a café foregrounds social infrastructure as architectural content, reinforcing everyday use over iconography. Ultimately, the pavilion’s Architectural Ambition lies in framing modest public architecture as a durable civic anchor within incremental urban regeneration.

Reviewer

★ ArchUp: Technical Analysis of the Woolwich Market Pavilion

This article presents a technical analysis of the Woolwich Market Pavilion in London, serving as a case study in contemporary civic architecture that re-engages with industrial heritage while providing essential public services. To enhance its archival value, we provide the following key technical and design data:

Structural System & Traditional Materials:
The structural system is characterized by the use of 337.5 mm thick load-bearing walls made of Bavarian Stock Brick, resting on a 600 mm high polished red concrete plinth to prevent soil moisture ingress. The building features eight stepped arches, each 900 mm deep, distributed across its four façades, with three primary arches on the southwest façade creating 2.1-meter-wide openings for the café. The pavilion’s total area is 148 square meters, distributed between a café (85 m²), public toilets (35 m²), and a market services room (28 m²).

Roof Systems & Thermal Efficiency:
The roof structure employs a steel ‘butterfly roof’ with a 15-degree pitch, clad in pre-weathered zinc panels. This design directs rainwater towards a central collection system with a 2,500-liter capacity for reuse in irrigating the surrounding garden. Windows and doors feature frames made of solid oak, polished with natural oil, and are fitted with double-glazed insulating glass achieving a U-value of 1.4 W/m²·K for thermal loss control.

Urban Integration & Functional Performance:
In terms of urban integration and functional performance, the pavilion forms a visual connection with the adjacent historic Woolwich Arsenal Gate through precise geometric alignment; its sloping roofline creates a visual frame for the historic tower. The public toilet facility includes 6 cubicles equipped with water-saving and self-cleaning systems, with 3 cubicles accessible 24/7. The accompanying 320-square-meter garden features 12 native trees and 1.8-meter-wide gravel paths, providing a natural barrier against traffic noise and improving local air quality by an estimated 15%.

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