PRODUCTIVE TERRITORY - OLD KENT ROAD by urbanworkshop

PRODUCTIVE TERRITORY OLD KENT ROAD

Architectural Association School of Architecture Housing & Urbanism 2014

Tutors Jorge Fiori Elena Pascolo Alex Warnock-Smith

Team Asli Arda Yolanda Nayeli Galindo Cano Magnus Thiemer Jensen Gayathri Kalyanasundaram Sharmila Kamalakkannan Livia Rita Klemencsics Sabrina Kรถsters Piyush Makwana Mariana Moro Solachi Ramanathan Meruert Isaevna Zharekesheva 2

CONTENTS 00 CONSTRUCTING PRODUCTIVE TERRITORIES 01 LONDON TRENDS AND POLICIES 02 OLD KENT ROAD 03 FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSFORMATION

SPATIAL CONDITIONS

IDENTIFYING NETWORKS

DEFINING THE TERRITORY

LAYERS OF THE TERRITORY

CONSTRUCTING PRODUCTIVE TERRITORIES Augmenting productivity understood in its purely economic dimension has become a central concern of cities undergoing rapid transformation and change. However, urban growth and transformation exclusively based in these parameters often leads to an intangible increase in land value, resulting in the expulsion of local communities and activities. In order to design cities that are inclusive and robust, it becomes vital to incorporate a complex assemblage of forces which are generated not only by the material, but social and cultural dimensions of life that have bearings on spaces of the urban fabric. Through a multidimensional and multi-scalar strategy, it is possible to facilitate synergies within and between various actors. Through the investigation of the current development trends in London and the analysis of the London Plan it is possible to identify rail-based transportation

as a primary tool for development. When transportation expansion comes combined with a nodal development strategy of Opportunity Areas, investments are directed into clearly defined boundaries, exerting high pressure on lower value industrial land within these borders. The association of Opportunity Area designation and master plan schemes makes it easy for development to follow the logic of speculation that is focussed on short-term gain rather than longterm value for local communities. The territory around Old Kent Road (OKR) becomes a key site where an alternative logic of transformation can be pursued owing to its particular conditions and strategic location close to the city. It is an important thoroughfare that contains a significant percentage of low value industrial land. With the proposed extension of the Bakerloo line to OKR, the development pressure on the existing industrial land may lead

to the expulsion of local economic activity. Therefore, it is important to understand Old Kent Road as a territory where productivity could be stimulated besides the infrastructural investments, taking into account its economic, social and cultural aspects. The project aims to find a more inclusive tool for transforming an area, which becomes important for the city at large to build resilient communities. The identification of existing productive networks in the territory that work across different scales, integrating different actors and promoting multi-sectoral relationships, supports the hypothesis that large industrial sites sustain smaller industrial businesses, integrating local population into cycles of productivity. The latter could be enhanced by the combined action of institutions with the rethinking of housing from simple provision to a layered strategy towards urban

development. In the case of OKR, these institutions can expand their role as social facilities to act as learning centres for labour force, supporting local businesses. Three key areas of intervention were identified as being primary to develop spatial responses to this hypothesis. Each of these sites establishes relationships between new flexible typologies with streets acting as the interfaces between the different parts of the urban fabric, clarifying the hierarchy of these areas as secondary routes where productive activities can emerge. The ambition for our project is twofold: to enhance the productivity in OKR area by introducing new productive mixes; and to scaleup the interventions by rethinking existing policies and establishing complementary ones which aim to reintegrate Strategic Industrial Land in a city scale, enabling a long term sustainability of this secondary yet fundamental network. 5

01 LONDON TRENDS AND POLICIES

Nationality

Residence

69%

51%

49%

Non-UK

31% UK

Non-UK

New-build buyers in prime central London

LONDON TRENDS AND POLICIES

National Planning Policy Famework Development Plan

London Plan

Core Strategy

Local Plan

(to be replaced by Local Plan)

Saved Southwark Plan policies

Statement of Community Involvement

(to be replaced by Local Plan)

Authorities Monitoring Report

Adopted policies map

Area Action Plans

Neighbourhood Plans

Supplementary Planning Documents

LONDON PLANNING FRAMEWORK

Community Infrastructure Levy

The ondon lan identifies the key problematic and trend in the city, simultaneously setting up a planning and policy framework to address those conditions. The main problems acknowledged by the London Plan are of areas of deprivation and lac of affordable housing and workspaces. It also highlights other important trends in the city, like the rapid shift of industrial land to other uses, reflected by the increase of logistics and service based activities, and the strong presence of foreign investors (60%) driving processes of transformation in the city. To address these issues of deprivation and housing deficit, the London Plan uses the tools of Opportunity Area and Action Area designation to stimulate investment in a determined region in order to

unlock its potential as a centrality, associated with rail-based transportation system to drive processes of transformation across the city. This strategy creates highly attractive areas for market forces, where external investments seem to have priority of development, aiming for maximising of gains through land speculation. The East West Corridor is being used as the dominant tool for developing strategic locations and the most deprived areas in the city through investments in mass rapid transportation systems like Cross Rail and London Overground.

opportunity areas restricted transfer of industrial land strategic industrial location 10% most deprived boroughs

LONDON TRENDS

(1) 10

Consultation of Design for London team about main trends of development in London.

Although this strategy improves connectivity in neglected areas, the focus on service-based interventions threatens low value land, leading to the dramatic increase in land value and making the newly built spaces too expensive for the existing inhabitants and activities, thus leading to expulsion of the population. This is where a paradox is seen the ambition of the planning and policy framework of the London Plan, and the outputs of the tools used for development. Rather than developing deprived areas to create new opportunities for existing communities, this logic can result in expulsion, imposing a developerdriven urbanism. This mode of development fails to provide the crucially needed affordable wor space in ondon,

as reiterated by Design for London (DFL)(1). This process is evident when reflecting over current developments in London, where even though the drivers of transformation range from housing, culture and institutions in the case of Nine Elms, institutional and retail in the case of White City, to retail, institutional and the Olympics in Stratford, development processes based on the appropriation of land through external stakeholders around transportation nodes generate pressure over industrial areas, compromising the expansion of workspace. The ambition of the project is to build a response to this dominating trend via challenging the forces illustrated in the critical analysis of the current developments in London.

Crossra

Area de

Borough

CROSSRAIL DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR

MAIN DRIVERS

- TRANSPORTATION, INSTITUTIONS AND PROXIMITY TO CENTRAL LONDON

NINE ELMS

MIXED USES

- HOUSING, INSTITUTIONS, OFFICE

PERMEABILITY THROUGH REDEVELOPMENT

The development in Nine Elms is planned as the extension of the South Bank, in order to capitalise on the success of the adjacent cultural hub, generating an intense pressure over the previously industrial land. The ambition of the proposed masterplan is to create a new centrality around Vauxhall using important institutions, like embassies, as the main drivers for development, as well as o ce space. The masterplan proposes a mixeduse environment with spaces for business, commerce and housing along with the redevelopment of important landmarks, like Battersea Power Station and New Covent Garden market. The proposed new fabric does not complement the surrounding urban grain, creating a clear contrast in the urban area in terms of scale, height

and morphology. The two new tube stations that have been proposed in the masterplan will potentially enhance the connectivity of the area; however might contribute to the increase of land value. This results in high price housing schemes, which are mostly bought as investment commodity by foreign investors, leaving the majority of the dwellings highly inactive. Also the affordable housing ends up not being affordable for the local people, potentially forcing them to leave the area.

01 Institutional and cultural led development ew centrality of business and finance along with commerce Intent of public accessibility on privately owned land Majority of residences are homes for foreign investors

VICTORIA

SLOANE SQUARE PIMILCO

VAUXHALL RIVER THAMES

OVAL BATTERSEA PARK WANDSWORTH RD

CLAPHAM JUNCTION STOCKWELL

NINE ELMS IS A DISTRICT OF LONDON, SITUATED IN THE FAR NORTH-EASTERN CORNER OF THE LONDON BOROUGH OF WANDSWORTH BETWEEN BATTERSEA AND

DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

VAUXHALL. 13

WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTRE

WHITE CITY

IMPERIAL COLLEGE

MEDIA INSTITUTES

The development in White City is driven by the Imperial College extension and the expansion of estfield hopping entre on what used to be industrial land. The main objective of this development is to create a new biomedical and a retail hub which would act as the gateway from the outskirts of London to the centre, bringing population and stakeholders from outside and creating pressure on existing housing and the need for new housing developments. The typology of the big shopping centre, the on-ground railway and large motorway infrastructure create a disjuncture in the urban fabric, leading to problems of micro accessibility. At the same time, this area is very well connected to other parts of the city through public transport as well as

motorways, forming a multi-modal transport infrastructure. Therefore, the good connectivity and the presence of strong institutions make it favourable for the market to intervene for redevelopment, using most profitable drivers, such as retail. The pressures over land value make the new proposed affordable housing not really affordable for the people in need. Even though the development has high ambitions of engaging with the local stakeholders, the pressure of market on valorising land undermines the possibility of engaging with embedded activities of the area, which ma es it di cult to build up resilient communities.

01 Research and retail led development New biomedical and retail hub nade uate affordable housing and workspaces Problems of micro-accessibility

BBC WORLDWIDE

LATIMER RD

WHIITE CITY

WOOD LANE

WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTRE

SHEPHERD’S BUSH MARKET

GOLDHAWK RD

WHITE CITY IS A DISTRICT IN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM AND FORMS THE NORTHERN PART OF SHEPHERD’S BUSH. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

STRATFORD

2012 OLYMPICS

The Stratford area has a main driver of transformation, the establishment of a major retail centre associated with the Olympic Games of 2012. The political vision that Stratford could potentially be a new centrality in the East End area of London due to its strategic location generated a process of expansion of the rail and motor transport systems, making the area extremely well connected regionally, nationally and internationally. The estfield shopping centre explored this privileged position to establish the largest retail centre in London, taking advantage of the good connectivity in the area and the fact that the land was previously industrial of a low value. This process increased radically the land value, generating a process of displacement of the industrial park 16

STRATFORD CITY

- WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTRE

that largely characterised the area. The development aimed to create a high value centrality, mainly composed by business and commerce along with residences, which would act like a gateway from the outskirts of London to the centre, similar to White City. The development is largely market driven, failing to address the deprivation in the borough and to provide affordable wor spaces. ven though the definition of London Legacy Development Corporation aims to establish guidelines for the provision of high quality housing, the production of affordable dwellings can be questioned due to the increasing in land value in the area.

01 Event and retail led development New centrality of commerce and housing along with leisure Major transportation routes leading to urban fragmentation

LEYTON

nade uate affordable wor spaces

INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST CENTRE STRATFORD INTERNATIONAL

HACKNEY WICK STRATFORD

STRATFORD HIGH STREET OLYMPIC STADIUM

GOLDHAWK RD

ABBEY RD

WEST HAM BOW RD

LEE VALLEY

BROMLEY-BY-BOW

STRATFORD IS A TOWN AND DISTRICT IN EAST LONDON, ENGLAND, IN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF NEWHAM. IT IS LOCATED

MILES

EAST NORTHEAST OF CHARING CROSS. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

BRIXTON AS A PRODUCTIVE TERRITORY The current urban scenario seen in Brixton is unique, as it is a dense, very well connected area in terms of public transportation, with high levels of productivity and mixeduse activities. ather than defining an imposed Opportunity or Action Area that bring new developments that replace existing ones, Lambeth Council has been involving local residents and local actors, agencies and stakeholders in the ongoing transformations of the area, making the most of its unique characteristics. Masterplans for Brixton are much more embedded because of the attitude of the local council, which involves key industries within the local development strategy, prioritising existing activities. The food, music and recycling industries can be taken as examples that 18

successfully engage with the mobility systems and infrastructure, responding to the spatiality of this area. The morphology of the urban fabric allows the flexible use of space wherein different activities are adapted into the existing spatial conditions, utilising hybrid buildings as workspaces. This model of development is more inclusive in nature looking at long-term benefits to all involved sta eholders, rather than prioritising market led developments that rely on external investors and short term profit.

01 Transformation through productive networks No designation by London Plan Local stakeholders and community participation de uate affordable and flexible wor spaces

FOOD DISTRIBUTION

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY

BRIXTON STATION

BRIXTON HILL

MUSIC PRODUCTION AND VENUES

COLDHARBOUR RD

REUSE ECONOMY

BRIXTON IS A DISTRICT OF SOUTH WEST LONDON WITHIN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH. NETWORKS OF THE PRODUCTIVE TERRITORY

PRODUCTIVE SPACES IN BRIXTON

OPPORTUNITY AREAS AND CROSSRAIL CORRIDOR

OLD KENT ROAD The critical analysis of Nine Elms, White City & Stratford highlight the dominant trends of development in London, which use the Opportunity Area or Action Area designation in combination with mobility systems to attract investments from around the globe, making it unavoidable to speculate on the valorisation of land. It becomes 20

crucial for the marginalised and peripheral areas to build resilient communities and synergies with the existing ecologies of patterns of living and working through an alternative but complimentary logic of development. This helps them to resist the forces that lead to expulsion of local population and activities, such as seen in Brixton,

which illustrates a productive territory that is undergoing a slow but embedded transformation. In this context, Old Kent Road becomes a relevant piece of the city to investigate alternative forms of development, since it is bypassed by rail transportation and town centre designation and has one of the largest pieces of industrial

land close to the city centre. The possible Bakerloo line extension could pressurise these areas, increase land value and generate social tensions, compromising the resilience of the communities. There is a chance to explore a complementary framework that works parallel to the London trends, focusing on the secondary city

SECONDARY NETWORK OF STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL LAND

- a â&#x20AC;&#x153;workingâ&#x20AC;? city, aiming for the sustainability of workspace and networks that interlink economic, social and cultural actors rather than infrastructure. The importance of industrial land is reflected in the current framewor applied in Old Kent Road, since the Action Areas associated with it are designated sites for job creation.

While the increase in jobs aims to be 26%, only 10% of them are expected to be o ce based. This indicates the potential of expansion of workshops and related services, connecting to the existing activities present in the area. The implementation of a strategy that sustains industrial growth has as key challenge to increase productivity

through a layered transformation that articulates framework and different actors and processes to local site conditions. The spatiality of these multidimensional relationships allows the possibility of creating resilient communities. Thus, it is paramount to understand the spatial, economic, social and cultural aspects that characterise

Old Kent Road in order develop a clear alternative towards the standard forms of development that risk limiting job generation and threaten long-term social sustainability.

02 OLD KENT ROAD

“Surely the Lord is in this place” MOUNTAIN OF FIRE AND MIRACLES MINISTRIES, OLD KENT ROAD

LOCATING OLD KENT ROAD

ld ent oad is ualified as a red route by Transport for London, which means that it carries 30% of ondon s tra c, but constitutes only 5% of London roads, reinforcing its character of being a major thoroughfare. It extends for 3 miles from Elephant & Castle to New Cross Gate, having several bus lines running along its length that act complementary to the tube system that surrounds OKR. The possible 24

SOUTH LONDON

extension of the Bakerloo line, therefore, would not dramatically change the macro mobility system of OKR, since it is an already very well connected road. Historically, OKR played an important role in a regional and local scale, primarily as an important Roman route that integrated several neighbourhoods. However, its character has been changing considerably through time: once

permeated by a thriving local economy along the road, OKR is now dominated by large retail parks like Tesco, Asda and B&Q. The existing infrastructure, suitable for fast speed tra c, is explored by this large-scale retail, since a carbased consumption model requires the shed typologies associated with large parking lots, often causing fragmentation of the fabric along the road. As a result, the micro

mobility system is neglected, causing accessibility problems in a neighbourhood scale. As already mentioned, OKR also has a strong presence of large industrial sites, which are mainly organised in clusters around the road throughout its length, and are areas demarcated as Strategic Industrial Land by the London Plan.

SOUTHWARK

& LEWISHAM COUNCIL

OLD KENT ROAD

Similar to the conditions of large-scale retail, the industrial warehouse typologies compromise the accessibility and integration between this industrial land and the rest of the fabric, since the yardbased access, which orients the buildings towards the inside of the block, creates a series of physical barriers. As a result, a concentration of economic activities happens along OKR, with little possibility of penetrating into the neighbourhood. This concentration of productive activities is sustained by the 26

proliferation of monofunctional housing estates, the spatial characteristics of which commonly contribute to social deprivation and high crime rates. These often gated communities aimed to create â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;safeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; areas around the housing. However, the attitude of closing the housing estates had the opposite effect the largely unused open spaces, together with underutilised garage spaces, provide hidden corners which enable illegal activities and do not stimulate economic activities.

ELEPHANT

& CASTLE

OLD KENT ROAD BURGESS PARK

Camberwell

PECKHAM RYE

PECKHAM

Old Kent Road Peckham

Elephant & Castle

Burgess Park Peckham Rye Camberwell

POSSIBLE SCENARIOS OF BAKERLOO LINE EXTENSION

As a result, many housing estates are in a poor condition, and two significant examples, ylesbury and Heygate Estates, are now in different stages of redevelopment. The current masterplans for these areas utilise stereotypical housing projects as main drivers of transformation, without integrating adaptable spaces for productive activities, once more facing housing just as provision of houses. Associated with housing estates, community centres have as a 28

main goal to provide spaces for educational and cultural activities and to stimulate conviviality amongst the residents. The repetition of functions in poor quality spaces with poor relationship with the streets and the lack of coordination between the diverse proposed programmes undermine the potential of these centres to work as social integrators between different social groups, and also to be part of the productive chain.

ELEPHANT

& CASTLE STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL LAND DESIGNATION

HEYGATE ESTATE MANDELA WAY

VERNEY RD

GAS WORKS

AYLESBURY ESTATE

BURGESS PARK

HATCHAM RD

VEOLIA

RECYCLING

CENTRE

STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL LAND ALONG OLD KENT ROAD

ELEMENTS OF THE TERRITORY

retail estates recreation community functions productive activity Action Area/ Opportunity Area potential Opportunity Area 30

Despite being socially deprived, the area cultivates a rich cultural mix, being composed by diverse ethnic groups from all over the globe. This plurality stimulates the creation of several gathering spaces, which innovatively reuse existing or derelict buildings, generating hybrids that provide interesting responses to

contemporary spatial demands, guaranteeing multiplicity. Apart from analysing the adjacent neighbourhoods, a broader understanding of territory needs to be defined in order to better comprehend the larger scale dynamics that condition the area in a city scale.

LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY

WHITE CUBE BERMONDSEY

LONDON SOUTH BANK ART COMPANY

CORONET THEATRE

BERMONDSEY PROJECT

TOWER BRIDGE BUSINESS COMPLEX

LONDON SCULPTURE WORKSHOP

ART IN THE PARK WEBER INDUSTRIES

GOLDSMITHS UNIVERSITY

SOUTH LONDON ACADEMY

PECKHAM ART CLUSTER KINGS COLLEGE CAMBERWELL

PRODUCTIVE SPACES AND NETWORK IN THE TERRITORY

FRAGMENTED GRAIN

SURROUNDING OPPORTUNITY AND ACTION AREAS

CANADA WATER

PECKHAM TOWN CENTRE

ELEPHANT

& CASTLE

OKR is surrounded by three major centres under redevelopment, each one having different drivers of transformation. All of three centres are aligned with the London Plan; either being designated Opportunity Areas or Action Areas. Elephant and Castle, located northwest to OKR, is being developed as a leisure and service hub which takes advantage over a new transport interchange and better quality housing as a main driver. It attempts to improve accessibility and to contribute to the revival of a local high street, Walworth Road, which extends from it and function as a major local retail centre. Although the redevelopment of Heygate Estate aims to regenerate the area through the creation of new job opportunities and better quality housing, it offers far more expensive dwellings than the previous model, possibly generating a process of relocation of the existing population from their established communities. On the other hand, Peckham, located south from OKR, is a creative hub closely related to two arts universities - Camberwell and Goldsmiths in Newcross, which help sustain many art studios and galleries. The area also has a strong infrastructural driver with the creation of a new London

Overground station, which exerted similar pressures related to dramatic increase in land value. However, the resistance of local communities resulted in the successful creation of a Conservation Area, which aimed to preserve small scale and important buildings, so that the community could benefit from the growth and development generated in the zone. Lastly, Canada Water, located north from OKR, followed a similar logic of development of Elephant & Castle, since retail and leisure activities organized around a transport interchange acted like main drivers for the formation of this town centre. However, this area has a strong presence of large scale facilities which changed radically the character of the neighbourhood, formerly composed by industrial land. In conclusion, OKR territory functions as a critical mass for these surrounding economic activities. Thus the interventions in the territory should complement these three surrounding developments that confine the territory, as they have the potential to link the interventions to wider region and eventually to the city.

CANADA WATER ACTION AREA

BERMONDSEY ACTION AREA

LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY

ELEPHANT

& CASTLE OPPORTUNITY AREA

OLD KENT ROAD ACTION AREAS

BURGESS PARK

U U

GOLDSMITHS UNIVERSITY

KINGS COLLEGE CAMBERWELL

PECKHAM ACTION AREA

DEFINING THE TERRITORY

EAST LONDON FURNITURE

BOW ARTS STUDIOS

BALFRON TOWER

LONDON SCULPTURE WORKSHOP

WHITE CUBE BERMONDSEY

BERMONDSEY PROJECT

LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY

TOWER BRIDGE BUSINESS COMPLEX

LONDON SOUTH BANK ART COMPANY

ART IN THE PARK

WEBER INDUSTRIES

GOLDSMITHS UNIVERSITY SOUTH LONDON ACADEMY

KINGS COLLEGE CAMBERWELL

ENHANCING THE EXISTING NETWORKS

PECKHAM ART CLUSTER

EXISTING NETWORKS/ENHANCING NETWORKS By working with the embedded logic across urban areas, the existing networks have the capacity to integrate different sta eholders, institutions, housing and industries, forming unique relationships that are more robust. The urban fabric should be able to accommodate a diverse set of conditions that promote different scales of activity to flourish. The project is focused on a series of interventions that are multidimensional, multi-sectoral

and multi scalar in nature in order to enhance existing networks and facilitate new networks. These interventions aim to orient investment within the territory rather than only focusing on clearly defined boundaries and lines, as commonly seen in Opportunity Areas and Action Areas. The spatial strategy involves creating interfaces between the different spatial conditions and reinterpreting the existing logic of the territory. 37

2 KM RADIUS, IMPORTANT LOCAL EMPLOYMENT LOCATIONS

IMPROVING PERMEABILITY OF INDUSTRIAL LAND

BOUNDARIES BERMONDSEY

ELEPHANT

CANADA WATER

& CASTLE

NEW CROSS PECKHAM TOWN CENTRE

VEOLIA RECYCLING CENTRE

HOUSING

DISINTEGRATED STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL LAND

EASTERN GAS WORKS, DISUSED

OLD KENT ROAD

YARD BASED INDUSTRIAL SHEDS, MANDELA WAY

LARGE INDUSTRIES AS AN ANCHOR FOR MICROBUSINESSES The clustering of medium scale industries and large-scale housing estates or gated housing compounds around OKR creates a functional and spatial segregation within the urban fabric at the border. The dominant typology being the yard based industrial sheds with boundary walls results in isolated enclaves of industrial activity. These industrial sites are serviced solely by Old Kent Road resulting in further disintegration with the surrounding fabric. The poor interface between the existing industrial uses and surrounding

productive activities undermines the potential of the low value industrial land. On the contrary, the project is developed on the premise that large industries can support the growth of smaller businesses around it taking advantage of the low value of industrial land. Working with the largest industrial site along OKR, the ambition is to create interfaces between the fragmented uses in order to enhance the productive potential of the area and also enables the coexistence of housing and industries.

STREET BASED ACCESS, HATCHAM ROAD

EXISTING COMMUNITY CENTRES

STUDY OF OPEN SPACES

CHANGING PATTERN

RESPONSIVE PLOT LAYOUT

INTEGRATED BLOCK CONFIGURATION

LONDON, FITZROVIA

BERLIN

PARIS, RIVE GAUCHE

EXAMPLARY GRAIN STUDIES

REINTEGRATING STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL LAND A linear site of intervention has the potential to establish relationships between the different systems, functions and grains of the industrial zone, the housing to the North and Old Kent Road. The new roads link the existing streets improving the overall accessibility of the site. Connections to yards and parking lots of industrial sheds imply the further expansion of the system of movement. A new street stretching till Asylum Road, which leads to the Queens Road tube station, connects the site to the wider territory. igher density and finer grain help to achieve an intense environment along a central axis. The edges of the site of intervention are oriented towards the industrial sheds, accommodating lower density and bigger building units. The resulting block structure is integrated to the surroundings via

the road system and is capable of conserving the spacious character of an industrial zone. The blocks on the site are tested both in their dimensions and organisation via superimposing exemplary grains. The neighbourhood of Fitzrovia in London is characterised by a grain that provides a differentiated street hierarchy and permeability of site. The Berlin blocks provide a series of enclosed collective courtyards as a result of a bigger block structure, which creates a strong relation to the main street network. In the case of Rive Gauche in Paris, the application of a differentiated grain created diverse urban environments, promoting variation in different scales. ach of the tests provides distinct responses to the urban condition of the site in Old Kent Road and has been taking into account in the spatial design. FRAGMENTED EXISTING BLOCK STRUCTURE

SHARED INTERIOR WORKSPACE

FUNCTIONAL SEPARATION OF FRONT AND REAR

DEEP PLAN AND SHARED ATRIUM

MICRO BUSINESS TYPOLOGIES The introduction of new flexible living-working typologies can support the growth of small business in the area in turn forming synergies within and between the productive activities. Through the reinterpretation of the warehouse typology, it is possible to introduce smaller workspaces while retaining the visual character of the site. Three different variations on live work environments are tested, showing different relationships between productive spaces, with collective environments and the housing unit. Especially shared open and enclosed spaces play a vital role in the enhancement of creative exchange and collaboration. Emphasis is put on spaces, which accommodate light industrial production, e.g. spaces for fabrication processes. In each of the cases, the industrial shed is taken as a starting point for variation because its dimension and the flexibility of the interior, that can provide covered space for any combination of functions. The first typology rethinks a row house type with orientation to both the street and shared covered workspace

in between (see left), utilising both yard-based and street-based accesses. Incremental features are used to allow for the extension of units and the adaptation to changing financial situations, ta ing advantage of the internal covered space. The second test organises the block in two portions, configuring a larger workshop space in one edge and a sequence of terraced houses on the other, with a shared courtyard in the middle. The spatial organisation of the dwellings provides open spaces in all levels and allows a physical separation between these different levels, being flexible enough to house only one family per dwelling or one family per floor. The rear room on the ground floor could also be converted into a workshop with independent access, since it is possible to use the shared courtyard as entrance. The third typology associates deep plan sheds with atriums, which provide natural lighting and ventilation, adapting this type to accommodate a domestic environment.

ACTIVATING STREET FACADE STREET ENTRANCE

WOOD WORKSHOP

DIGITAL PROTOTYPING

METAL WORKSHOP

BOOTHS

DELIVERY, SORTING, STORAGE

YARD ENTRANCES

TESTS OF WAREHOUSE TYPOLOGY FOR MICRO BUSINESS INCUBATOR

PROPOSED INTERVENTION

PLAN, PRODUCTIVE SPACES AND STREET/YARD RELATION

PRODUCTIVE ENVIRONMENTS SHAPED BY TYPOLOGIES

ORIENTATION AND STREET HIERARCHY

RELATION TO LINES OF MOVEMENT

MICRO BUSINESS ECOLOGIES The proposal opens up the industrial site through the implementation of a street grid, which extends to the surrounding area. A main service road traces the diagonal axis of the former Gasworks site. An additional line of movement acts as a physical connector between the productive clusters to the East and Burgess Park, while cutting through the main site of intervention. The block structure is able to accommodate a variety of micro business typologies, providing a spatially differentiated neighbourhood. The gas cylinders left over from the former industrial use, are being treated as centralities,

transforming into institutional buildings with communal use or outdoor collective spaces. In order to secure investments for relatively low value projects, the proposal of a collaborative workshop on site with shared spaces minimises the investment and maximises the impact. Additionally a collaborative investment strategy enables local stakeholders and territory wide stakeholders (such as universities, small businesses, large businesses, council, community centres) to develop a productive cooperative, focused on the micro business incubator. 45

GRANGE

EAST WALWORTH

SOUTH BERMONDSEY

PEABODY ESTATE

AYLESBURY ESTATE

LIVESEY

PECKHAM

East Walworth Unemployed Less than 2km to work Transportation by bus Houses Flats Rented council housing 1-2 rooms 3-4 rooms 46

Grange 40% 25% 23% 16% 81% 37% 11% 55%

SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE TERRITORY

Unemployed Less than 2km to work Transportation by bus Houses Flats Rented council housing 1-2 rooms 3-4 rooms

Peckham 30% 14,4% 17% 10% 88% 30% 14% 65%

Unemployed Less than 2km to work Transportation by bus Houses Flats Rented council housing 1-2 rooms 3-4 rooms

South Bermondsey 41% 25% 25% 27% 71% 42% 13% 52%

Unemployed Less than 2km to work Transportation by bus Houses Flats Rented council housing 1-2 rooms 3-4 rooms

Livesey 37% 25% 20% 23% 75% 34% 13% 57%

Unemployed Less than 2km to work Transportation by bus Houses Flats Rented council housing 1-2 rooms 3-4 rooms

42% 27% 23% 22% 75% 52% 11% 54%

AYLESBURY ESTATE ELEVATION, MONOTONOUS FACADES

HOUSING AS A DRIVER OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION The territory of Old Kent Road is characterised by large social housing estates and housing complexes with unused open spaces, working almost like gated communities, creating an incoherent urban fabric. By rethinking the existing housing strategy from simply a provision of housing to one that promotes urban transformation, the project aims to stimulate productive environments.

Working with the Aylesbury Housing Estate, the largest and most deprived housing estate in the area, the ambition is to transform an area of low productivity by creating mixed use buildings with new workspaces. An inclusive strategy that addresses the current economic and social conditions can contribute towards integrating the new communities with existing ones. HOUSING ESTATES IN THE TERRITORY

PROBLEMATIC CONDITIONS

READAPTING UNDERUSED GARAGE SPACES

REPETITION

- DALSTON GARAGES

RELATION OF COURTYARDS AND RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

REMOVING SOCIAL BOUNDARIES By creating an active ground plane and introducing new typologies to accentuate the edges, it is possible to improve accessibility through the housing estate and create a hierarchy in the urban fabric. These interventions have the capacity to define new relationships between

the built and unbuilt environment through external orientation of inhabited spaces. The activity generated can help in diffusing the impact from Old Kent Road to integrate the territory to other sites of productivity. PROPOSED MASTERPLAN FOR AYLESBURY ESTATE

WORK SPACES ALONG STREET FRONT, NEW INSERTIONS

SHARED WORK FACILITIES, NEW BUILDING

SECTION

PLAN, NEW PRODUCTION SPACES

INTRODUCTION OF PRODUCTIVE SPACES

WORK SPACES, ADAPTED

LIVE WORK STUDIOS, NEW BUILDING

SECTION

1, DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH EXTENSION, INSERTION AND BUILDING A STREET EDGE

REQUALIFYING HOUSING ESTATES The proposed masterplan for the redevelopment of the estate into housing blocks with 60% private housing and affordable housing will result in the loss of social housing units and expulsion of local residents. Rather than designing a new masterplan, the aim is to show a different logic of transformation that can improve the existing community as well as bring in new inhabitants. The project is based on the premise that the Aylesbury will be demolished due to poor conditions and quality of its structure. Through the retrofitting

of the unused garage spaces, in addition to introducing new mixed use types, the project can generate value for the underused spaces while integrating new spaces with existing ones. By introducing new collective workspaces, it is possible to secure employment with affordable investment for the residents and increase local participation in the area. The temporary nature of the interventions demands smaller investments with bigger room for experimentation with design and community participation. STRATEGIC INTERVENTION

EXISTING COMMUNITY

IMPORTANT RETAIL HUBS ALONG OLD KENT ROAD

TESCO

ASDA

CONSOLIDATING COMMUNITY CENTRALITIES

RETAIL ALONG OLD KENT ROAD

COMMUNITY CENTRALITIES FACILITATING INSTITUTIONAL NETWORKS Along with the large number of housing estates in the area, there also exist a large number of community centres associated with each estate, which currently only perform social functions as leisure centres. The isolated and repetitive nature of these facilities undermines the potential of linking complementary programs to create a widespread impact. It is important to expand the role of community centres to become institutions for skill development and training facilities. A new centrality based

on community activities that contains production spaces can drive institutional networks and employment strategies. Taking Tesco as a starting point as it is located strategically as a pivot between OKR and a secondary road through the Mandela Way Industrial Estate, the aim is to activate the disengaged streetscape in order to create an environment that encourages exchange and facilitates synergies between economic, social and cultural activities.

UNDERUTILISED SPACE AROUND TESCO CENTRALITY

EXISTING COMMUNITY CENTRES

LONDON SOUTHBANK UNIVERSITY

EXISTING COMMUNITY

TESCO

COMMUNITY CENTRALITY NETWORK OF THE TERRITORY

TESTING SPACIAL INTERVENTIONS FOR THE HYBRID

MASSING AND RELATION TO THE GROUND PLANE

UPPER LEVEL

INTRODUCING A NEW HYBRID Working with the past redevelopment plans for Tesco, the aim is to introduce a catalyst project that anchors the formation of new networks between existing and new institutions in the area. The design proposal involves a new hybrid building as a strategy to incorporate different functions and generate unique relationships between institutions and diverse cultural groups. The location on Old Kent Road and its proximity to Burgess Park, which acts as a regional leisure facility, makes the site a potential centrality in the territory. Therefore,

the presence of the hybrid building is accentuated through a tall volumetric composition. The intervention provides different types of spaces allowing for the incorporation of commercial, residential, o ce, institution and civic uses. The interior and exterior spaces especially on the ground floor are articulated through a multiplicity of public, semi-public and private open spaces. The pathways through the site relate to the existing street pattern, enhancing the integration to the surroundings.

LOWER LEVEL

ACCESS AND VERTICAL CIRCULATION

RESEARCH FACILITIES FOR TATE MODERN MUSEUM

TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL CENTRE

STREET AS INTERFACE

DISENGAGED STREETSCAPE THROUGH YARD-BASED ACCESS

STREET AS INTERFACE The Tesco site directly connects to an existing agglomeration of large industrial sheds, which function as both storage and o ce spaces. Running parallel to Old Kent Road, Mandela Way has the potential to both enhance the centrality of the new hybrid and transform into an alternative street-based workspace environment. The main objective is to introduce a series of streetbased small o ces, wor shops and housing typologies that can establish a different hierarchy of accesses, prioritizing the street as the interface between different activities. The current disengaged relationship between the buildings and the street is based on its spatial

and functional monotony. The site can be addressed in different ways, both by adding smaller buildings on underused parking lots and by clearing and redeveloping whole blocks. The interventions along Mandela Way can build upon the existing actors on site, like the Tate Modern Museum and the charity organisation of the Bermondsey roject to provide affordable workspaces. Together with the hybrid building of the Tesco site, Mandela Way is capable to create a micro network of interrelated training facilities and institutional functions. SEQUENCE OF OPEN SPACES

GROUNDFLOOR PERMEABILITY

DIAGONAL MOVEMENT THROUGH THE HYBRID

RELATION OF COURTYARD TO AUDITORIUM

ACCESSABILITY AND SPATIAL SEQUENCES

HIERARCHY AND RELATION OF INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SPACES

INFILL WORKSPACE AND HYBRID BUILDING

SEQUENCE OF TESCO AND MANDELA WAY The hybrid is organised by a sequence of spaces leading diagonally from Burgess Park, through a central courtyard towards another square facing Mandela Way. The location of a multi-storey Tesco is positioned to its most valuable side, facing Burgess Park and in front of an existing bus stop. The central courtyard acts as a distribution space for a theatre and o ce building with communal functions of the ground floor. The hybrid building on the Tesco site and Mandela Way interventions

are seen as one proposal. This way the pivotal role of the hybrid is underlined, which structures the relationship between the local assets of the Burgess Park, the high street section of Old Kent Road and the Aylesbury estate intervention, which is further south along Albany Road. The hybrid and Mandela Way form together both a functional sequence as well as a sequence of accessible indoor and outdoor spaces, making this workspace cluster more pedestrian friendly. ACTIVATING MANDELA WAY AS AN INTERFACE

BERMONDSEY PROJECT AND TATE MODERN WORKSHOP, RESEARCH SPACES

LIVE-WORK UNITS AND LIBRARY

TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL CENTRE

The interventions along Mandela Way create active frontages on the street adding to the existing work environment. Pavilions are inserted in the reused industrial buildings of the Bermondsey project. The pavilions house a cafĂŠ, a gallery and a workshop, creating an inviting entrance. The parking lots of the Tate Modern storage building can be used to accommodate additional research spaces, li e o ces and laboratories. An important aspect here is to consider the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outreach programme, where artbased educational courses for children and adults are offered. The two larger interventions aim to create a transition between existing housing and the new streetscape with workspaces oriented towards the street.

Buildings with public and collective spaces are turned towards Mandela Way, while live-work units and residential buildings are placed at the rear. Through the introduction of new streets and courtyards the former closed blocks are restructured and adapted to house multiple typologies. The buildings towards Mandela Way create a smooth transition between the street and the interior by engaging the facade via double height entrance spaces. The visual and physical permeability from andela ay to different environments within the depth of bloc s diversifies the experience along the street.

POLICY FRAMEWORK ADJUSTMENTS

London SouthBank University

Bermondsey Project

Adapted WORKING SPACES

live-work STUDIOS

University of Arts Camberwell

CONSOLIDATED SPATIAL STRATEGY

Peckam Creative Industries

02 OVERLAY ZONE EXISTING OPPORTUNITY AREAS

Infill Workspace

Hybrid Building

Micro Business Incubator

REINTERPRET Strategic industrial land to introduce new productive mixes through an overlay zone focused on conservation Social housing estates to introduce new production spaces Role of community institutions as integrating organisations INTERFACE

Goldsmith University

Punctual interventions that can anchor a system of secondary streets to structure new investments in economic, cultural and social activity Street as interface to create a coherent urban fabric edefine existing types for better integration with the existing fabric New building types to introduce hierarchy and form new relationships with the unbuilt space 65

BERMONDSEY

ELEPHANT

& CASTLE

MANDELA WAY

TESCO

AYLESBURY ESTATE

GAS WORKS

PECKHAM

IMPACT ON THE TERRITORY

CANADA WATER

IMPACT ON THE TERRITORY NEW CROSS

By linking the fragmented industrial sites in the territory, possibilities of secondary routes emerge that have the potential to integrate the industrial land with the transformation of the area. The secondary route focuses on overlaying a conservation area, new mixed use spaces and intermixing of current uses through incentives or planning regulations.

The multidimensional nature of the interventions along the secondary route has the potential to form new networks with existing and new stakeholders. The hypothesis behind the spatial application of the corridor is the concept of the street as the interface between different scales of activity. 67

REAPPLICATION OF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

03 FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSFORMATION

REAPPLICATION OF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

CORRIDOR AS STRATEGY The city of London faces similar problems around the conservation and integration of strategic industrial land. By extending the logic of transformation through a secondary network of industrial land, a strategy composed by an overlapping framework that extends linearly across the city can be implemented as a secondary

tool for transformation. This corridor works with the embedded logic of the territories in a complimentary manner to the primary rail network and nodal Opportunity Area based development by articulating a more diffused impact across the wider territory, addressing portions of the city that are not currently included in current policies. 73

e ckn Ha

O ld

ick

SECONDARY NETWORK OF STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL LAND

Pu rfle et oth km ee

London Sustainable Industrie

Wool wich

tfo ar

COMPLEMENTARY FRAMEWORKS

COMPLEMENTARY FRAMEWORKS By introducing a series of interventions around Old Kent Road that share the common ambition of increasing productivity and building a resilient community, we can unlock the productive potential of the territory. The interventions are complementary in nature facilitating synergies with existing activities across multiple scales. By acknowledging that Strategic Industrial Locations are still important areas of productivity within the city, not least to the local population around it in a lot of cases, the strategy aims to reestablish these sites as integrated parts of wider, productive territories.

Establishing this as an exemplar of an alternative model of both transformation and investment that has its origins primarily in the local territory, the strategy could be applied to other similar areas in London thereby enabling a wider impact. The secondary industrial corridor ties together similar areas with the ambition of reintegrating strategic industrial land with the surrounding territories. The corridor strategy works as complementary and secondary to the existing London Plan with a focus on working with embedded logics and diffusing interventions across wider territories than the precisely

delineated Opportunity and Action the reintegration of the industrial Areas. land into the surrounding urban fabric and productive networks. The corridor establishes a logic of On Old Kent Road, the corridor is transformation of secondary land established as a line of movement in a way that acknowledges the that physically and conceptually existing productive activities of the connects previously separated areas sites and reintegrates them within and enclaves. The employment both their local territory as well strategy focuses on the introduction as a larger corridor of secondary of workspaces as an overlay to the movement. It is also secondary already existing fabric and functions. in the way that it is a strategy for As well as physical movement, it an area that falls outside the main also facilitates synergies between framework for development in local economic activity in small London, and it therefore suggests a workspaces and regional economic new agenda for developing tools of activity along Old Kent Road and development and transformation in in the industrial areas. This helps the capital. 77

REFERENCES

Books Fernández Per, Aurora, 2014, This is hybrid: an analysis of mixed-use buildings, Vitoria-Gasteiz : a+t architecture publishers. Fiori, J. & Hinsley, H et al, 2001, Transforming Cities: Design in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro, AA Publications

Documents Mayor of London (October 2009), “The London Plan (Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London)”, Greater London Authority, London. London Borough of Southwark, 2011, “The Southwark Plan”, London Borough of Southwark, London London Borough of Southwark, April 2011, “Core Strategy”, London Borough of Southwark, London London Borough of Southwark, 2013, “Southwark key housing data 2012/13”, London Borough of Southwark, London Planning Section, 2002, “Old Kent Road supplementary planning guidance (SPG)”, Regeneration Department, Southwark, London

Articles Richard T .Le Gates and Frederick Stout, April 2014 , “The City Reader Fifth Edition“, in the Routlege Urban reader series , New York. Fiori, J., “Informal City: Design as Political Engagement”, in Verebes, T. (Ed), 2013, Master- planning the Adaptive City, Routledge 78

Web links Southwark council website - last accessed 17/04/2014 http://www.southwark.gov.uk/ Greater London Authority Website - last accessed 19/05/2014 https://www.london.gov.uk Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_London_Line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EastLondonLineRouteMap.png The Network Line website - last accessed 21/04/2014 http://www.networkrail.co.uk/ Cross Rail website - last accessed 20/04/2014 http://www.crossrail.co.uk/ London se1 community website - last accessed 6/04/2014 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/6677

Illustrations p.12 - Nine Elms development Timeout website- last accessed 02/06/2014 http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2012/11/27/nine-elms-development-to-transform-vauxhall/ p.14 - White City Ariel view look west London website - last accessed 13/05/2014 http loo westlondon.files.wordpress.com imperial west cgi.jpg p.16 - Stratford City Area The Telegraph website - last accessed 10/05/2014 http www.telegraph.co.u finance estfield

tratford

ateway to ondons

lympic

p.24 - Locating Old Kent Road Maps -- last accessed 10/05/2014 http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en_uk/earth/ p.48 - Dalston Garages converted into living units - case study London Evening standard website - last accessed 21/04/2014 p.48 - Proposed Aylesbury Estate Master Plan Southwark Council Website - last accessed 2/04/2014 http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200179/aylesbury_estate p.58 - View through old Kent road , last accessed 15/05/2014 www.bing maps.com 79