Millharbour Village Homes, Isle of Dogs Residential Development, Tower Hamlets Architecture
Millharbour Village Homes
Isle of Dogs Residential Development for Galliard Homes, UK – design by Studio Egret West and Hawkins\Brown
6 Jun 2014
Millharbour Village Homes in London
Design: Studio Egret West and Hawkins\Brown
Location: Millharbour Village, Isle of Dogs, London, UK
Studio Egret West and Hawkins\Brown win planning for Millharbour Village
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has granted planning consent to proposals submitted by Studio Egret West and Hawkins\Brown on behalf of Galliard Homes for a residential-led development of 1500 homes at Millharbour Village.
The consent gives the go-ahead for a high-density mixed-use neighbourhood in South Quay, which will include schools, parks, commercial space, office space and 1,500 new homes, creating a significant new community on the Isle of Dogs.
Originated through an Urban Design Framework in 2012 (developed in consultation with London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the GLA), the development will consist of six buildings and will create over a hectare of new public space, including two parks.
A new three form entry, state-run primary school will be included and the masterplan will create the capacity for the relocation and enlargement of the existing educational and performance arts uses in the area.
Lucas Lawrence, Associate Director at Studio Egret West said:
“The proposals at Millharbour Village have remained true to the founding principles captured in the original Urban Design Framework. The new public realm and the non-residential lower floor uses fuse together to ensure a strong identity at the heart of the ‘village’.
“This unified design approach has been reflected in the family of residential buildings above which, although each have their individual expression, work together to create a strong sense of place. The appearance of SEW’s proposals is defined by each buildings particular approach to the design of the winter gardens; double height, wrapping or deep enclosed amenity spaces become the expression of the buildings character.”
Greg Moss, Partner at Hawkins\Brown said:
“The proposals for Millharbour Village have been developed in close collaboration with Galliard Homes and have provided a unique opportunity to create a scheme with a real sense of place and cohesion of community. Working again with Studio Egret West has built upon the strength of our existing relationship and has allowed the benefits of genuine collaboration to be integrated to the design.”
Studio Egret West is the masterplanner and landscape architect for the development. The architecture has been designed by both Studio Egret West and Hawkins\Brown in a collaboration that follows their previous partnership on the Park Hill Estate in Sheffield, where the two practices were nominated for the Stirling Prize in 2013.
The two practices are collaborating across the site in a truly integrated manner, working across both the East and West of Millharbour Village. Each practice is completing the design of three of the six buildings. Studio Egret West is leading on Millharbour West while Hawkins\Brown is leading on Millharbour East. The non-residential accommodation areas have also been distributed between the two practices.
A strong emphasis on providing a liveable new neighbourhood is the driver behind the proposals. The introduction of tall, high density, residential buildings is made possible through the inclusion of key community infrastructure. Millharbour West focuses on education at ground level, where the prospect of three new and enlarged schools combine with a new park. Millharbour East has a different focus, again providing park, this time surrounded by ground floor restaurants, cafés and office space, activating the dockside to create a lively civic environment.
The traditional boundaries of parks and pavements are broken down, allowing a landscape that reflects the historic character of the Marsh River to permeate across the public realm. In a similar blurring of boundaries the parks include built forms in the shape of tall open structures. These growing frames recreate the industrial language of the dockside ensuring that the parks are not dominated by the buildings, but have a strong presence and character of their own.
Millharbour Village Homes – Building Information
2.6 hectare site.
A new three form entry state run primary school.
Potential to relocate and enlarge the existing educational and performing arts uses on the site.
Two new parks set within approximately 1ha of new public realm.
1500 new homes of mix tenure and typologies
Housing split includes 27% affordable homes with 21% social rented and 6% intermediate tenure.
A single energy centre providing heat and power for the whole development.
Millharbour Village Homes in London information / images received 16102015s
Website: Studio Egret West
Location: Millharbour Village, Isle of Dogs, London, England, UK
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