Reflection

Regeneration is a broad definition that can describe various different processes of urban renewal, socio-economic change, environmental improvement and physical transformation of places and their communities. Various contrasting models of regeneration processes have occurred across cities globally, from top-down growth and property-led solutions such as seen in Canary Wharf, to bottom-up community plans that concern socio-economic sustainability such as in Coin Street, and centralised plan and public sector-led models.

 

This project presented a challenging task to achieve a design and regeneration model that would be successful in addressing the many issues that plagued previous attempts at regenerating the Royal Albert Dock. The site had previously been earmarked to become an Asian business and economic hub and construction had been completed on phase 1. However, the developer running into bankruptcy and the Covid-19 pandemic led to the site being left unlet and unused and new ways of regenerating the site should now be explored, particularly since the pandemic has made the need for office space redundant. The site itself also presented challenges and it was important to devise ways of ensuring the development would be: 

• Beneficial to the local community

• Considerate of the heritage assets the site has to offer

• Activating of a poorly accessible and uninviting site which has poor north-south connectivity due to severances by a road and London City Airport

• Sustainable and create a healthy and lively community

• Able to repurpose the failed ABP Phase 1 office blocks into new uses

• Covid-19 and future pandemic safe and ready.

 

However, these challenges presented many opportunities to create an inviting and exciting development brief and proposal for how selected areas of the site could be re-imagined. A community focused and led approach was instead taken in order for the site to be of greater social and economic benefit to the local community, establishing community facilities and services, cultural events space, education space and local business support. This is all to be hosted within a space of high quality green public realm that references the past through retention of heritage buildings and inclusion of historical shipping artefacts, yet provides a flexible and modern space that responds to the pandemic, climate change and the site’s various challenges.