East India Dock | remapp.co.uk

Context/ East India Dock is undergoing redevelopment: with a strategy of adaptive reuse its existing PoMo office blocks (1992) are being refurbished as high quality and low cost work space within a new creative district (Republic); and its external areas are becoming newly revitalized areas of public realm, that are also integrated within the wider framework of the Tower Hamlets Green Grid Strategy. Phase 1 of the public realm project and design process has focused on the existing concrete canal, and addressed the functionality of this predominantly hard landscape context, with its related lack of biodiversity and constraints as a podium structure, its microclimate and prevailing wind issues.

2016

Phase 1: Working carefully around the existing avenue of lime trees the existing railings and bridges have been replaced with new sustainable timber structures, decking and a newly planted canal, to create the new Water Garden public realm, a series of multi functional external rooms within a water garden setting. As an integrated design the new timber structures have been designed by Studio RHE, and the new planting design is by remapp. The proposed planting palettes for land and water enhance biodiversity, and define changing seasonal atmospheres as a series of sheltered public open spaces for the activities of the new work spaces and cafes to spill out into. New marginal and aquatic planting has been established with the installation of a bespoke and low tech two tiered gabion structure. The planting palette includes a mix of native and non native plants, chosen for their wildlife habitat benefits, to provide extended flowering time as food for pollinators, for sensory experience, dynamic seasonal delights; and to create layered enclosure and sheltered microclimate.

2018

Client and Collaborators:

Trilogy Property Client/ Quartz Project Manager/ Studio RHE Architect: Public Realm Design Lead/ remapp Landscape Architect: Planting Design/ Made Public Public Space Consultancy/ The Ecology Consultancy Ecologists/ Marcus Foster Tree Consultancy/ London Borough of Tower Hamlets Planning Authority/ Galliford Try Main Contractor/ ESL Planting Contractor/ Anglo Aquatic Water Plants/ Wyevale Land Plants.

Programme: East India Dock Public Realm / Phase 1: Dock Gardens completed Summer 2018