Old|Newham Re-generating the eastern part of the Royal Docks . Old|Newham Re-generating the eastern part of the Royal Docks BU1 – Transforming Local Areas Exercise in London Borough of Newham Tutors - Dr Camillo Boano, Giorgio Talocci Phase 2: Design Response Group D Nicola D’Addabbo | Emanuele Fois | Stefania Gyftopoulou Christen Jamar | Iris Kuhnlein | Luisa Miranda | Alberto Piccioli 17 March 2014 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to take this opportunity to thank the five other study groups in BU1 for their work in developing the lenses of analysis, our professors Giorgio Talocci and Camilo Boano for guiding us through this process, the members of the Newham Council’s regeneration department whose invaluable feedback helped direct our response, and to the people of North Woolwich, Albert Island and Beckton, who gave us their time to help us better understand the area. 2 Contents Introduction 4 Synthesizing Analysis 8 How to connect? 10 Where is everyday life? 12 Whose regeneration? 14 Possibility for change 14 SWOT Analysis 16 Principles & Guidelines 20 Vision 24 Design Response 28 Connectivity 29 Re-engaging North Woolwich 32 Re-vitalizing Albert Island 34 Re-activating Beckton 36 Conclusion 38 List of Figures 40 Bibliography 41 3 I Introduction North Woolwich, Albert Island and Beckton, an area carved out the eastern Royal Docks, has lying at its somewhat shaky foundations, a paradox: although well connected to London through its various transport links, at the local level it is fragmented and disconnected. The way the area was produced historically – literally dug up and laid in place to make the Royal Albert and King George the V docks – continues to define it. Once a busy dock supporting a sizable local workforce (in extremely difficult living conditions); now evidence of the docks can be found in a collection of poorly connected islands, which house other islands: new private housing developments, City Airport, the University of East London, further west, the ExCel, the O2 and Siemens. This inherent disconnectivity has impacted social connectivity, both within the area and from the outside. 4 Introduction This design response aims to address this fundamental challenge by building new connections, drawing new networks, exploiting existing nodes and creating new ones. We recognise the singular challenge that the Airport presents – in terms of noise pollution and of its impact on land use – and try to come up with a plan, particularly for Albert Island that works within those limitations. As such we look at the eastern Royal Docks as a whole, and through its constituent parts, looking to reinvigorate the area considering themes of connectivity, everyday life and regeneration. This document is organised in the following way: first, we develop a synthesized analysis, filtered through six lenses of analysis, which brings an overview of the main attributes of the area. Next a SWOT analysis captures the area’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, which lays the groundwork for principles and guidelines that orient our design responses for the area. Then we propose four design strategies through a series of interventions: a reconceiving of the mobility network, a re-engagement of North Woolwich through several small acupunctural changes, a revitalization project in Albert Island introducing several leisure amenities, and a reactivation of Beckton, where bold multi-functional developments can change the everyday life of the area. These interventions form a collection of design responses that aim to shift the eastern Royal Docks into an attractive place for living, working, studying and visiting. 5 Introduction Figure 1. Real estate south of Albert Island Figure 2. Empty lot near the Crossrail site Figure 3. King George V DLR station Figure 4. Danger sign on private property gate Figure 5. Housing in North Woolwich Figure 6. Pier Road Figure 7. Abandoned pier Figure 8. Historic station and railway museum near the pier 6 Introduction Figure 9. Aerial view of the Royal Docks from east (from: Vision for the Royal Docks) 7 II Synthesizing Analysis When considering the six lenses of analysis employed to better understand the eastern Royal Docks—Housing and Dwelling, Urban Fabric and Landmarks, Open and Public Spaces, Thresholds and Leftovers, Cultures and Economies, and Transport and Mobility—one is left with a sensation that the area is filtered through with illusions. An area that on the map seems so well connected—an airport, two rail lines, several bus lines, a ferry and a ring road—is disconnected and fragmented in practice. A former docklands, peninsular landmasses surrounded by water, is fenced off from that which generated the reason for its existence at all—the river. A short hop from some of London’s most headline-making developments in recent decades—Canary Wharf, the Olympic Park, the O2—it seems forgotten and lost in the excitement. These differences can be understood as issues of scale and vision—the area is envisioned, connected and imagined at a macro scale, the process of which is having a detrimental effect on the locality. To explore these conflicts of scale, we will focus our synthesized analysis on issues of connectivity, everyday life, and regeneration. 8 Synthesizing Analysis Figure 10. Embodiment map (from: Urban Analysis - Infrastructure and Mobility) 9 Synthesizing Analysis How to connect? Crossrail, considered a boon to greater London, is slicing the area in two, disjointing an already poorly The area of study has, on the face of it, networked region [for more on how macro-scale extraordinary transportation links. City Airport to architecture can create barriers at local levels, the world, the North Circulars to Greater London, see Graham and Marvin (2000)]. Many of these the DLR to central London, and the Woolwich infrastructure projects, meanwhile, have carved up ferry and buses more locally. This is no doubt, the land, leaving pockets of unused land without true, and particularly in the case of the bus links obvious potential. and the DLR, that connectivity is one of the area’s Socially, the area was also found to be struggling assets. However, analysis revealed that at the to achieve meaningful connectivity and interaction. micro-scale, these transportation networks were The lack of an integrated pedestrian network, impeding connectivity. The ferry—the only river despite the area’s well-placed landmarks, impedes crossing in the area—and the North Circular mean interaction as some public spaces are difficult to the road network is prioritized over pedestrians reach. (This is due in part to the area’s low porosity and often users of that road are large lorries. The in both coarse-grained Albert Island and parts of airport, which is set to expand from 80,000 to Beckton, and more finely grained residential Beckton 120,000 flights annually, generates significant noise and North Woolwich.) While the area’s diversity— pollution and imposes restrictions on land use. The economic, social, cultural, and architectural to name DLR, while providing good central London access, is a few—is considered an asset, its social and physical expensive for many local residents (the area scores community infrastructure is weak and therefore has high in terms of measures of multiple deprivation). not achieved its potential. Figure 11. Macro scale map: leftovers and thresholds (from: Urban Analysis - Thresholds and Leftovers) 10 Synthesizing Analysis abandoned nuildings Figure 12. Map of abandoned buildings (from: Urban Analysis - Housing and Dwelling) urbanized land open space vacant Figure 13. Built up, vacant and open spaces (from: Urban Analysis - Housing and Dwelling) 11 Synthesizing Analysis Where is everyday life? This idea of social disjointedness, established through interviews and observation, was a common theme. Though it must be said that the area was observed during a wet and cold London midwinter, few found evidence of a vibrant public life. Pier Parade, witness to a failed market, is bordered by empty shopfronts and contains little life. Royal Victoria Gardens and the park in Beckton provide a green respite, though views on the gardens, in particular, were mixed. Some see the space as a Figure 16. Abandoned pub in North Woolwich strong community asset, while others talked instead of muggings, street drinking and assaults. Further disrupting the area are leftover spaces, both empty land and buildings. The study area is pockmarked with empty brownfield sites, some of which are residual spaces left over by development, others, in particular Albert Island, are large swathes of neglected space. In the wake of the area’s de-industrialisation and changing residential communities, a number of buildings – industrial, heritage, and others – have been left empty, symbols of an increasingly forgotten history and economic stagnation. The sheer quantity of empty and Figure 17. Pier Parade square neglected space and buildings can generate feelings of disharmony, which is further compounded by the difficulty in getting around (Lynch 1960). Figure 14. Street signs and barriers on Pier Road Figure 18. Walls at Royal Victoria Gardens Figure 15. River bank in the new real estate area Figure 19. Path along the river near Royal Victoria Gardens 12 Synthesizing Analysis grid and clustered fabric soft-scape hard-scape Figure 20. Grain and porosity (from: Urban Analysis - Infrastructure and Mobility) Figure 21. Priorities map (from: Urban Analysis - Urban Fabric and Landmarks) 13 Synthesizing Analysis Whose regeneration? a ‘world-class business centre: world leader in high technology, green enterprise and research and an Meanwhile regeneration efforts have been international forum for the exchange of knowledge driven by large single-purpose developments, and ideas’ (Royal Docks Vision Document, 2011). such as the airport and University of East London, The repeated reference to the global illustrates how motivated by commercial and industrial growth, the planner’s imagination for the area is largely with little consideration for and tie-in to the locality.