YES MAKE

Today we celebrate the launch of our new home @tippingpointeast Tipping Point East is a climate futures centre combining circular and biobased materials at scale. It operates from an industrial site in the Royal Docks, bringing together material reuse, low-carbon construction, training and cultural activities to support a just transition in the built environment. TPE is established by @yesmakeldn @material_cultures and @resolvecollective supported by the @mayorofldn and @newhamlondon 📸 @henrywoide #constructionhub #circulareconomy #materials #materialreuse #builtenvironment

We recently made a bench for @somerstowncauk as part of the Camden Community Kitchen project, working with people seeking asylum to carve words inspired by their favourite foods. The bench is made from green chestnut, steam-bent into a curve, with sculptural elements in cedar, cypress, and reclaimed oak from the London Docks. A playful addition to the STCA and surrounding area, a place to sit, share, and connect through food and making. Camden Community Kitchen project team: Hanna Baumann, @maddie_kessler_ , @cmtbworks , @christophermtb , @deepikaupadhyaya , @simeonfeatherstone

Have you been to @tippingpointeast ? It is a remarkable new material reuse facility and centre of ecological architectural design and research in east London. 95% of the materials used in the main office, designed by @material_cultures , are recycled from other construction projects. Here's a rundown of the photos: Pic 1. Window and door frames made with water wood from the Bridgerton sets. Pic 2. A meeting room window made using the round glass from an old table top. Pic 3. Elton John's old kitchen! (A small part of it at least) has been remade as the office coffee point. Pic 4. @sumsais speaking about the work of Material Cultures in front of a huge wall of biomaterial samples (construction materials that have come from plants, not mining or drilling). Pic 5. Structural columns made from discard Cross Laminated Timber. I have never seen small pieces of CLT used like this. Very smart. Pic 6. @resolvecollective have also established the @_materialstore_ here taking waste materials from cultural institutions like bits of exhibition and finding new uses for them in the community. Here are fragments of a @rosa_johan show waiting for a new life. Pic 7. And outside @yesmakeldn have a massive yard where they are processing high quality second hand construction materials. The pic shows an enormous piece of sequoia which is gradually being turned into new boards.

To date we have done a total of 10 demonstrations for @petersonsawmills and the response we received from @yesmakeldn was astounding. The UK is a top 3 in global imports for timber. By meeting architects, furniture makers, circular economy collectives the message from the British forestry industry is clear - promote and use your domestic supply. We’re here to contribute. @nationalsawmillsuk #forestryuk #timber #circulareconomy #london #nationalsawmills

Completed last month for Advocacy Academy (@advocacyacademy ) in Brixton🌱🎊 This interior fit-out includes three screen dividers, two storage cabinets and tables for use across the studio, all designed and made by Yes Make from 100% reclaimed timber with reclaimed hinges. The woven elements were developed with textile artist Sara Kelly (@studiosarakelly ), who created the indigo weaving elements through a series of workshops in the space, involving young people and the wider community in making of the final furniture. The timber came from Marilyn: The Exhibition by Studio Shaw (@studioshaw ) and Mitre & Mondays (@mitreandmondays ). After four months in use, the exhibition was disassembled, and its some of the material was carried into this project. Plywood shelving was sourced from the Greencoat and Gordon House site through General Demolition (@general_demolition ). Material Index (@material_idx ) played an important role in connecting the project and helping us organise reclaimed stock through their platform. A project built through joined-up material reuse, hands-on making and collaboration in place.

Tipping Point East is being recognised as a national case study. In the newly published Circularity guidance for mayoral strategic authorities (26 February 2026), Tipping Point East and Yes Make are highlighted as an example of what Mayoral Authorities across the UK can do to support the circular economy by making physical space for innovation, reuse infrastructure and new forms of growth. Circular construction at a large scale requires places to store, process, catalogue and redistribute materials. Spaces where design, making and material recovery can happen side by side. We are proud that this work is informing national guidance and demonstrating what a working circular system looks like in practice. A new kind of civic infrastructure for reuse. Tipping Point East (TPE) is a circular construction hub founded in 2025 and based in Newham, East London. TPE operates from a 20,000 sqm industrial site in the Royal Docks, bringing together material reuse, low-carbon construction, training and cultural activity to support a just transition in the built environment. Co-developed by and housing the practices of Yes Make (@yesmakeldn ), RESOLVE Collective (@resolvecollective ) and Material Cultures (@material_cultures ), TPE creates practical, everyday entry points into climate action rooted in local need. Photography by @henrywoide

NEW: I’m delighted to announce the UK’s first circular construction hub - Tipping Point East in the Royal Docks. Transforming how we build - reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown away and creating new jobs and opportunities for Londoners ♻️

Our new home, Tipping Point East, is launching today 🌱 🚀 We’re grateful and excited to be creating a new home for ourselves, Material Cultures and Resolve Collective, supported by the @mayorofldn and the @newhamlondon . Tipping Point East is the UK's first climate futures centre, building the infrastructure to store, process and redistribute materials from across the construction industry into new projects. Designed in collaboration with Material Cultures and built by Yes Make, it is made entirely from reclaimed materials, including a structure formed from a hotel CLT floor slab, bespoke windows from office glazed partitions, custom metal brackets from I beam offcuts and insulating walls retrofitted from theatre flats. We engineered the building to maximise the potential of reused materials and celebrate these details throughout. It is also designed for disassembly and future reuse. TPE operates from an industrial site in the Royal Docks, bringing together material reuse, low-carbon construction, training and cultural activities to support a just transition in the built environment. Photography by @henrywoide

We’re hosting a series of site visits to celebrate the launch of Tipping Point East — a new circular construction and skills hub delivered in partnership with @newhamlondon @yourroyaldocks @mayorofldn Supported by @weareinnovateuk funding, the project includes an office fit-out using 100% reclaimed and biobased materials, demonstrating circular principles in practice. There are in total 4 site visits at our hub in the Royal Docks, organised for specific sector audiences. - Local Aurhorities (24th Feb) - Circual Economy Sector (2nd March) - Construction Sector (4th March) - Local Communities (6th March) We will also have an online webinar (3rd March) for those who can't make it to site. Our amazing founding organisations @yesmakeldn @material_cultures and @resolvecollective will give you an insight into their work on site and an overall intro to TPE. We are grateful for the support of @dsdha_architecture (our guarantor) @_zetteler_ (comms/PR) and @sadleradvisory (financials) 🔗 Book via the link in our bio #CircularConstruction #CircularEconomy #NetZero #BuiltEnvironment #RoyalDocks

Our January–March woodworking workshops are live! From offcut-led making sessions to chopstick making, these workshops are about learning through doing, material intuition, and giving surplus wood a second life. Winter into spring, back at the bench. 📍 Paper Garden, Canada Water, SE16 7LW Small groups, hands-on, all levels welcome Some dates sold out — limited spots left Book via the link in bio. (Yesmake.co.uk/bookings)

Listen to Joel at the latest @futurebuildnow Podcast episode, talking all things Yes Make, and circular construction in practice. Episode 30: Turning waste into beauty: From demolition sites to public spaces Youtube link in our bio! Find out more about Yes Make's commitment to circularity and community, and how we take the waste from the creative and built environment sector to create beautiful public spaces for communities. "Every year, thousands of tonnes of perfectly usable construction materials are removed from sites across the UK – yet most still end up in landfills. In episode 30 of the Futurebuild Podcast (part 1), Martin Hurn talks with Joel De Mowbray, Director and Designer-Maker at Yes Make, about circular construction in practice. Joel shares how his team works with local authorities and communities to reclaim materials, build affordably, and show that sustainability and design go hand in hand. In this episode: How he went from growing up in a timber workshop to redesigning the public realm. Explore why local authorities need a new, community-first delivery model. The moment Yes Make was born. Hear how they reclaim tonnes of materials from demolition and construction. Why structure and beauty should always go together."

We are very happy to share a WIP image of the co-design and co-build project we created as part of @globalgeneration ’s generator program facilitated by Has and Cassie. Working with young people from the local area, we imagined, designed and built a bridge for Global Generation’s Paper Garden in Canada Water. This will cross the pond that the generators will be building next year! Through these sessions we decided what to build together, voting on the breif and the design. The bridge was made from 100% reclaimed timber and renewably sourced timber (from old park benches, to coppiced chestnut) featuring a woven willow railing design. We always love sharing the joy of making, and it’s especially meaningful when that process unfolds through a long, collaborative journey of design and build. The 2026 Generators Youth Programme at the Paper Garden is recruiting now. If you know anyone aged between 10-18 please direct them to the Global Generation’s website @globalgeneration