Site Relationship
The Exchange Kitchen sits within an important threshold between the existing Fishponds Highstreet and the proposed Fishponds linear park, stitching together a once fragmented site into positive shared civic ground.
Danny Forbes
Architecture & Planning 2026
I am an Architecture and Planning graduate born and raised in Bristol. From the scale of a city to a single building, I believe every project must be rooted in genuine community engagement and shaped by the local people. I aspire to shape cities that work for the people who live in them, not as a vehicle for profit. As a Part 1 graduate I bring fresh, socially grounded thinking and a genuine want to learn and grow.
My final year project, 'The Exchange Kitchen', is a community kitchen where people can come together to learn about each other's cultures through cooking, eating and shared cultural history. The project confronted the idea of ‘gastronomic colonialism’, where the built environment treats culture as a commodity instead of truly engaging with it.
Building Sections - Main Building
Two sections reveal a building designed for cultural exchange, a glazed ground-floor hawker market with communal seating and park connections, stacked above is flexible event space and school cooking classrooms aimed at fostering food education and multicultural celebration.
South Elevation
Salvaged brick and corrugated metal are unapologetically mismatched, demonstrating intentional imperfection, mirroring the building brief by bringing together different components to create unity. The main facade is simple, resisting the urge to perform, with the building richness coming from within.
Atsmospheric Detailed Section - Main building
The raised cycle track cuts through the heart of the building, creating an unexpected dialogue between cyclist and visitor. Its underside doubles as the roof of the demonstration kitchen, where the smell of cooking spills out and draws people in.
Perspective Section - Secondary Building
Four kitchens are located around one central dining table. Seperate cooking classes come together to share food prepared by each other, bonding through cultural exchange.