JOURNAL OF THE LONDON SOCIETY 2021
ALL CHANGE AT DOCKLANDS Glenn Howells takes us on a historical journey of London’s Docklands and his practice’s involvement in its future
Until the late 1960s the Docklands were a thriving and vital part of London’s economy, generating a raft of associated industries among the networks of wet and dry docks and yards, and employing thousands of the city’s workers. The development of Tilbury further downstream as a major deep-water container port in the mid 1960s, equipped to deal with larger vessels and containerisation, was the death knell for the area, and from 1960 to 1980 all of London’s docks were closed, leaving around eight square miles of derelict land. The 1980s heralded the regeneration of the Docklands, led by the DLR and most notably Canary Wharf, but this stopped short at the Isle of Dogs.
by working wharfs and warehouses, residential developments had been largely isolated, and gated. Such developments relied on being cheaper than those in established districts further west, the provision of secure parking, and maximising their only asset, the Thames. This led to what appeared to be Torremolinos on Thames; disconnected housing schemes, all straining their necks to give every home a glimpse of the water with little, if any, consideration of sites adjacent. The result of this is still evident; largely dormitory settlements that lack integration, connectivity and a sense of place. A great positive to come from 2008 was the pause brought about by that crisis, much like we are experiencing today, affording time and scope to reflect, and to think on things differently. Not only did architects and developers begin to look at things differently, but so did public agencies.
We first started working in London’s eastern Docklands in the depth of the banking crisis of 2008, when we were asked by developer Ballymore to look at a string of sites, stretching east from Leamouth Peninsula to either side of the Thames Barrier. Our brief was broad, to look at the potential in these sites, and see if development was viable, at a time when land values were in freefall and funding for property near impossible.
Just as we began to explore with Ballymore the idea of looking beyond these isolated commuter developments to an integrated urban tapestry - potentially a new great estate for London - we began conversations with local authorities, and in particular, Newham’s inspirational new head of regeneration, Clive Dutton. Together we began to imagine a connected
What became evident very quickly, was that up until this point, Thames-side developments east of Canary Wharf had been brave but opportunistic. Surrounded 58
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