The Land Lab

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Makerversity is opening a new type of workshop for our members - The Land Lab - a plot of agricultural land for testing regenerative, agricultural and materials exploration projects.

Over Makerversity’s first 10 years, we've witnessed an explosion in interest in projects at the intersection of making, growing, science and nature - what is collectively known as Regenerative practice. These projects can often only exist outdoors and in nature - and cant be realized or tested in a normal workspace or workshop.

We have seen numerous past and current members of Makerversity working at the intersection of technology, farming and natural renewal. From Climate Edge, pioneers in agricultural weather stations designed to pinpoint conditions affecting yield and quality in farming, Ponda - growers of insulating bio textiles,  to Indigo Works, who explore traditional indigo dying, cultivating their own dye in the vibrant London Indigo Garden. Current members Fibe are innovative material scientists repurposing waste potato plants to craft fiber-based materials for the fashion industry.

As of July 2024, we’ve established the Land Lab - made up of three 35 sqm land plots in South London. The space is just 20 mins by public transport from our space in Somerset House and large enough to host multiple member experiments and projects simultaneously - initially with a 3 x 3m plot available for each interested member. The Land Lab is open for experiments, projects and exploration. Alongside this it aims to provide a sanctuary for mental health and a space for our members to immerse themselves in growing and nature with an area set aside as a social food growing space for members.

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The Land Lab aims to be London’s first experiment plot for pioneering regenerative practices and is the first step on a longer term project to explore what an “Agriversity” as part of the Makerversity ecosystem could look like. The Land Lab joins our existing workshops as a free to use part of the Makerversity membership - alongside the Materials Lab, Robotics Lab, Metal, Fashion, Photography, Woodwork and Digital Making workshops - a combination of facilities that continues to make Makerversity the best place in the UK to develop a pioneering physical project, design or hardware business.

We are excited to see what this experimentation in land, soil and regenerative practice will bring - both to the world through the discoveries made there and to the work of our 300 strong community of designers, makers & innovators at Somerset House.

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