UK studio Charles Holland Architects has collaborated with RASKL to create a demountable, timber bandstand on Mitcham Fair Green in south London.

Named What Goes Around, the demountable, covered stage fabricated by RASKL will be assembled on Mitcham Fair Green every summer.

Charles Holland Architects drew on both the park's history as the site of an annual fair and historic bandstands to design the "exuberant and highly decorative" structure.

Charles Holland Architects has designed a colourful bandstand in south London

"It's a modern bandstand!" Charles Holland Architects founder Charles Holland told Dezeen. "I love bandstands as their function really is joy and pleasure and celebration."

"They come under the same category of architecture as seaside piers and fairground rides, which is great because it's on Mitcham Fair Green, and these buildings tend to be exuberant and highly decorative," he continued.

"We wanted to revisit that using different materials – timber rather than cast iron, for instance – but find a way to also make something highly decorative and exuberant in the same way."

The bandstand will be erected each summer in Mitcham Fair Green

As part of the development of the bandstand, the studio carried out a print workshop at Mitcham market.

Along with a previous bandstand in the park, which was removed in the 1950s, the studio was informed by the area's history of growing lavender, peppermint and liquorice for the patterned roof.

"During the workshop, flowers and organic patterns were a recurring theme," explained Holland. "So we drew on that."

"The patterns also relate to the demountable aspect of the bandstand," he continued.

"It is going to be taken down and stored every winter, so in a sense, when it is put back up in spring again it blooms like a flower – that’s why we called it What Goes Around because it comes back every year."

The roof pattern was informed by local floral history

Designed to be dismantled and easily stored each year, the bandstand has eight glued laminated timber columns that surround the raised stage.

These columns support a network of timber beams covered by a sixteen-sided, colourful, patterned roof.

It was made from glulam

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is the first bandstand designed by Charles Holland Architects, and the studio relished the opportunity to reinterpret a typology that was highly popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.

"We loved it!" said Holland. "We design all sorts of buildings – housing, houses, schools, interiors, exhibitions, but we are always interested in the communicative potential of architecture – what buildings 'say' – and a bandstand is a very talkative kind of building."

It was designed to be demountable

"We like decoration, ornament and pattern and looking at these in contemporary ways, so this was a great opportunity to reinterpret the bandstand," he continued.

"We could have called it a performance pavilion or something like that, but really it's a bandstand and we are very happy with that!"

It sits near a previous bandstand that was removed in the 1950s

Overall, Holland hopes that the space will be embraced by the community and inspire interesting events.

"It's ultimately about the events that happen in and around it and the pleasure that it inspires," he said. "We hope that it adds joy to this corner of London and that it becomes part of the life of the community."

Charles Holland Architects was established by Holland, who was formerly one of the founders of the highly influential studio FAT, in 2017. Previous projects by the studio include a parrot-like pavilion in North Yorkshire and a "playful and exuberant" terraced house extension".

The photography is by Jim Stephenson.

Project credits:

Client: London Borough of Merton Architect: Charles Holland Architects Fabricators and installers: RASKL Art + Architectural Structural engineer: eHRW