Barking Riverside plans unveiled
Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands has unveiled the practice’s initial thoughts for a masterplan for Barking Riverside – a key site in the GLA’s London Riverside Opportunity Area – at an event at London’s NLA.
The design outlines aspirations to create more than 10,000 homes on 179 hectares of undeveloped land in East London. The draft masterplan draws on Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands experience of successful urban regeneration and housing projects and takes influence from the best urban spaces and examples of urban regeneration from around the world, including Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm.
Plans for Barking Riverside were given a major boost when the Chancellor awarded £55 million of public funding to extend the London Overground railway into the site in 2014’s Autumn Statement.
Alex Lifschutz said:
“Barking Riverside is a site with outstanding potential. With its south-facing views over the Thames at its widest, it’s important to think of the project with the right level of ambition: With the right mix of uses and urban form, it could become London’s Riviera.
“Our masterplan seeks to create value at every point throughout this site, setting out distinct districts with their own character and appeal. We’ve drawn inspiration from the best examples of historic cities and new developments from across the world, but the overwhelming influence is London’s context and the existing natural beauty and landscape of the site.”
Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands’ initial designs set out the distinctive districts and major routes of Barking Riverside. Landscape plays a major role in the designs, with major routes kept away from the river in order to preserve the wild character of the water’s edge. Pedestrians and cyclists have been given traffic-free paths throughout the masterplan and the walled town district features a central boulevard and busway.
The GLA’s consultation on the London Riverside Opportunity Area Planning Framework concludes on the 7th of April 2015.
Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands’ final masterplan is expected to launch in Autumn 2015.
