Background: The House Mill on the River Lea, a tributary of the Upper Thames in East London, is a well-known historic tidal mill and one of the best preserved of the area’s eight historic water mills. However, historical industrial activity polluted the river, and damming slowed water flow and increased algal blooms in the Lea River.
The project aims to revitalise the surrounding undeveloped community and industrial heritage through the sustainable economic cycle of algae, The House Mill will be adaptively reused to create a centre for microalgae bioenergy production and a future healthy community centre; the old building serves as a dialogue with the past, and the new space is planned to allow for a variety of healing and fun community activities. The entire space of the old mill will be fully utilised here. The tidal water wheel will serves as the initial power source for the micro-algae installation.
