Wavering, Wandering, Wandle investigates the perception and approaches to conservation on the River Wandle, running between Croydon and Wandsworth. Over 4000 years of human settlement, agriculture, industrialisation, and urbanisation have left the river in a state of disrepair and neglect, while top-down approaches to river management suppress public concern and demands for the river.

The project also reflects the river in the sense that it is incomplete. Conversations with stakeholders, pollution events, and numerous returns to the river to fish and observe has continued to reveal the breadth and severity of the river’s current condition, as well as the changes that are needed to support it. These observations have been mirrored in the design principles which guide the project. Resilience can only be achieved through adaptability, and engendering this culture on the Wandle aims to become a case study and example for the 2200 river systems across the UK.