Barking Riverside

Barking Riverside is one of the most ambitious and important new developments in the UK, providing London with 10,800 homes on the 179-hectare former power station site, fronting 2km of the river Thames. A joint venture between London & Quadrant and the Greater London Authority will see the site developed over the next 15 years, encompassing healthcare, schools, open space, public squares, a new rail station with links to central London, 65,000sq.m. commercial floor space including shopping, community and leisure facilities, with an ambition to create a new night-time economy in this part of the borough.

Futurecity was commissioned to create a Placemaking Strategy for the site to layout a curatorial framework for integrating culture right across the space and lifetime of the development to help make an authentic place for a range of local and interest based communities. The strategy is for three distinct placemaking zones: Maker, Nurture, Nature. Maker is the cultural civic heart of the scheme tasked to integrate the commercial and transport hub with creative industries, artists studios and cultural organisations. Nurture is the thriving residential neighbourhood of inclusive communities that surrounds Maker, co-designed with artists, connected through sustainable transport to deliver the principles of a Healthy New Town. Nature is the outer zone; a rich ring of productive green and blue space that provides fantastic amenity, bio diverse habitats, and multiple health and wellbeing benefits. Each zone contains a suite of project proposals strategically positioned to deliver a culturally rich experience and environment over the life of the scheme.

Image: Barking Riverside Masterplan (c) Barking Riverside Ltd