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A new “omphalos” for the Empire: POLITECNICO DI MILANO - SCUOLA DI ARCHITETTURA CIVILE CULTURE OF URBAN DESIGN Massimo M. Brignoli, PhD. THE CANARY WHARF

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  • A new omphalos for the Empire:

    POLITECNICO DI MILANO - SCUOLA DI ARCHITETTURA CIVILE CULTURE OF URBAN DESIGN

    Massimo M. Brignoli, PhD.

    THE CANARY WHARF

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    context

    background

    process

    urban design

    development

    criticism

    conclusions

  • LONDON - EAST END

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • LONDON - EAST END

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • LONDON - EAST END

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    When Sir Nigel Broackes was asked to Chair of the London Docklands Development

    Corporation, he could not find Canary Wharf on any map, or even in the Encyclopaedia

    Britannica(!):

    After the first phone call, I went to my bookcase for the A-Z Gazetteer. London stopped

    at the Tower. So I went to the Encyclopaedia Britannica and, again, London stops at the

    Tower. Now, Ive driven through and past Docklands countless times but had never been in

    the Docks because there were police and customs officials and that kind of thing

    Sir Nigel Broackes (Chair, LDDC, 1987)

  • LONDON - EAST END

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • THE DOCKLANDS

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • ISLE OF DOGS

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    LOCAL COMMUNITIES:

    Stepney

    Poplar

    Isle of Dogs

    Bermondsey

    Greenwich

    Millennium Dome

    [distinctive bend in the River

    Thames]

  • CANARY WHARF

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • ACCESSIBILITY BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT

    Canary Wharf :

    Docklands Light

    Rail

    Jubilee Line

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • LONDON 1832

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • LONDON 1843

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • Palace of Placentia former Tudors Birthplace of Henry VIII and

    Elizabeth I

    Later Royal Naval College

    Greenwich Park

    Royal Observatory

    Prime Meridian

    Isle of Dogs

    Kennels of Henry the VIIIs spaniel hunting dogs (?)

    West India Docks

    Canary Wharf is in the

    middle

    THIS IS THE SUBJECT OF

    OUR STUDY

    1801

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • LONDONS PORT

    London Docks Commercial Docks West India Docks East India Docks Royal Docks

    (Surrey)

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • West India Docks by William Daniell, 1805

    Canary Wharf was

    originally called the Rum Quay because of its trade with the West Indies.

    The Wharf got its present

    name because, after the

    last war, this is where the

    Fred Olsen Line discharged

    bananas and tomatoes

    imported from the Spanish

    Canary Islands off the

    coast of Africa.

    exports inports

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    MAIN ELEMENTS OF

    THE ANCIENT

    SETTLEMENTS:

    5 storey warehouses

    Housing for the rich and

    poor

    Farms, farming villages

    Cottages

  • 1900-1945

    Launching of the Mauritania from the Royal Docks

    The Blitz

    Brick row houses for the workers and St. Annes Church

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • 1945-1975

    BEGINNING OF DECLINE

    Changes in the shipping industry:

    - Containerisation meant bigger ships with deep

    drafts that could not make it this far up the Thames

    - Mechanisation of the loading and unloading process

    meant lower labour requirements

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • 1945-1975

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Important to note the dark side

    The allocation of public housing was a racial issue in

    the Docklands:

    Past policies gave priority to children of existing

    residents, maintaining the close knit local communities

    and also keeping them largely white.

    The demands for housing for local people were partly a reflection of the tensions over racial integration.

    Community:

    Several generations of Dockers as a tight knit

    community

    Distinctive Cockney accent

    Housing:

    Public housing built to replace houses lost during the

    Battle of Britain

    Housing has been typified as Le Corbusier-style cement

    boxes, poorly maintained by local boroughs

  • 1930s

    35 million tons of cargo

    55,000 ship movements

    10,000 lighters

    100,000 employed by Port of London

    premise for redevelopment

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    premise for redevelopment

    1930s

    35 million tons of cargo

    55,000 ship movements

    10,000 lighters

    100,000 employed by Port of London

    1966-1976

    150,000 jobs lost

    20% of all jobs in London

    2% of all Great Britain

  • Built environment

    200 ha of derelict land on Isle of Dogs

    35 ha on Canary Wharf

    Owned by Port of London Authority

    Poor transportation

    Poor connection to the city (most of

    the Dockers walked to work)

    Many walked through the pedestrian

    tunnel under the Thames to Greenwich.

    Buildings

    Warehouses

    Row houses

    Council housing

    Waterfront access

    A problem or an opportunity?

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    premise for redevelopment

  • Labour Government commissioned five studies, which were completed between 1971

    and 1973

    1

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    2

    4

    5

    World exhibition

    proposals for redevelopment

    3

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    proposals for redevelopment

    With these proposals in hand, the Docklands Joint Committee was formed in

    1973.

    Representatives from local boroughs led a public process to develop Docklands

    Strategic Plan.

    The Committee had a target of creating 6,000 new dwellings and 12,000 new jobs

    by 1982.

    But, by 1981, despite good intentions and good public participation, only 1,300

    new dwellings were completed in 8 years. Only 800 new jobs had been created,

    which was overshadowed by the 8,500 jobs had been lost in the same period.

  • 1979 THATCHER TAKES POWER

    Those sorts of statistics dont bode well when someone like Margaret Thatcher comes into power.

    Thatchers approach to redevelopment: prime the pump for private investment!

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    MICHAEL HESELTINE

    Michael Heseltine, a former land developer, became Secretary of State for the

    Environment, which in Britain is responsible for issues such as reclamation and housing

    "I had found myself in in small plane, heading in that direction by way

    of the London's East End. My indignation at what was happening on

    the South Bank was as nothing compared to my reaction to the

    immense tracts of dereliction I now observed. The rotting docks -

    long since abandoned for deep-water harbours able to take modern

    container ships downstream - the crumbling infrastructure that had

    once supported their thriving industry and vast expanses of polluted

    land left behind by modern technology and enhanced

    environmentalism. The place was a tip: 6,000 acres of forgotten

    wasteland (quote from Heseltines autobiography)

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Those sorts of statistics dont bode well when someone like Margaret Thatcher comes into power.

    Thatchers approach to redevelopment: prime the pump for private investment!

    MICHAEL HESELTINE

    Michael Heseltine, a former land developer, became Secretary of State for the

    Environment, which in Britain is responsible for issues such as reclamation and housing

    He eliminated the Docklands Joint

    Committee and created the

    London Dockland Development

    Corporation

    1979 THATCHER TAKES POWER

  • 1980 LONDON DOCKLANDS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    The LDDC was given the mandate and resources to:

    Improve the image of Docklands

    Attract private investment

    Acquire public sector land, remarket to private sector

    Improve roads and public transport

    Bring about significant improvements in a choice and quality of housing and community

    amenities without undertaking such work

    directly

    Planning powers were never transferred

    from 4 local boroughs to the LDDC:

    those simply disappeared...

  • CANARY WHARF ENTERPRISE ZONE

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    One of the LDDC's approaches was to create enterprise zones, which were areas with very little

    regulatory control, and subsidised lease rates from the Crown.

    1982 Attracted by the Enterprise Zone status, Credit Suisse First Boston proposed to locate their UK headquarters at Canary Wharf

    1985 American entrepreneur G. Ware Travelstead was contracted by Credit Suisse First Boston to explore the

    feasibility of building a new business district at Canary Wharf

    This vision for Canary Wharf was the direct result of the

    deregulation of British financial institutions in 1986.

    Deregulation allowed for international take-overs and

    amalgamations.

    Travelstead proposed a 10 million sq. ft. office complex,

    enough to form a distinctive third office centre for London.

    However, Travelstead was unable to fund his scheme, so in

    1987 the development consortium was taken over by

    Olympia & York, led by Paul Reichmann from Toronto

    Olympia & York is the largest land owner in New York:

    Olympia & York acquired a 200-year lease to the Wharf,

    proposed to build 12.2 million sq. ft. of office space.

  • TRANSPORT SYSTEM - 1980

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Transportation was part of the deal

    Paul Reichmann was made welcome and, as part of the deal to attract him, the government

    agreed to extend the London public transport

    system out to this part of East London. For Paul

    the two projects went hand in hand; Canary

    Wharf without effective lines of communication

    would, as a concept, be dead in the water. (quote from Michael Heseltines autobiography)

    There was almost no transportation infrastructure in 1980

    When the Docks were shutting down in the 1970s, the local islanders decided to unilaterally declare independence from Britain.

    To do this, all they had to do was barricade the single road that connected it to the rest of London.

  • Investment by

    LDDC, 1981-91

    ( millions)

    344

    69%

    158

    31%

    Roads DLR

    TRANSPORT SYSTEM - 2000

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Olympia & York was initially required

    to:

    - Provide 68 million to build the

    Docklands Light Railway

    - Build an extensive infrastructure of

    roads

    - Fund training schemes for local

    residents

    Reichmann also pledged 400

    million towards the building of the

    Jubilee Line Extension.

    Not built as fast as the developer wanted,

    but 20 years later, it is completed

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    TRANSPORT SYSTEM - 1980

    Local opposition

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Construction of Limehouse Link. To avert what happened in 1970 (the blocking of the road by

    protesters) a nice new viaduct with a very lovely view was constructed into the Docklands

    TRANSPORT SYSTEM - 2000

  • PUBLIC TRANSPORT

    Docklands Light Rail Subway

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • Docklands Light Rail

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • Jubilee Line Extension

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • CANARY WHARF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    1987

    Docklands Light Rail, London City Airport completed

    1988

    Construction of One Canada Square begins

    1989

    Daily Telegraph and Guardian move to One Canada Square

    1991

    Completion of One Canada Square

  • BANKRUPTCY AND RECOVERY 1st act

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    1992

    - Office space 40% let

    - Working pop. = 7,000

    - O&Y submitted to bank

    administration

    1994

    - 27 shops and restaurants

    - DLR begins evening and weekend

    service

    1995

    - Tesco Metro opens

    - O&Y repurchased by Reichmann

    consortium

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    1996

    Working pop. = 13,400

    Office space 75% let

    1999

    90 shops and restaurants

    Jubilee Line opens

    2000

    Office space 100% let

    Reebok Sports Club opens

    2002

    Working pop. = 42,000

    BANKRUPTCY AND RECOVERY 2nd act

  • 1981 LDDC commissionS 5 urban design studies

    1982 Gordon Cullen and David Gosling proposal

    1982 LDDC rejects proposals, develops own framework

    1985 Travelstead/SOM creates Masterplan for Canary Wharf

    1987 Olympia & York (Reichmann) Takes control of Canary Wharf,

    SOM masterplan maintained

    URBAN DESIGN AT CANARY WHARF

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • CANARY WHARF - 1981

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • Sept. 1981 David Gosling and Gordon Cullen

    appointed to assist, Edward Hollamby, the

    LDDCs chief architect and planner, in the preparation of a a guide to design and development opportunities this was to test the feasibility of Goslings proposed development.

    Objectives of the guide:

    1) To define the existing character of the area

    2) To demonstrate the potential of the area through

    a number of sketch proposals

    Emphasis was placed on the need for flexibility

    in order to ensure the Isle of Dogs lasting

    economic revival.

    URBAN DESIGN PROPOSALS

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • rigid master plans were not the British way of going about urban development in the 20th century

    LDDC, 1981

    I read with pleasure Gordon Cullen and David Goslings sensitive and intelligent analysis of the character of place,

    history and visual uniqueness of the Isle of Dogs and

    studied Cullens perceptive drawings showing how this character could be echoed and enhanced by careful

    design and development. But of course we all know it

    never will be. It smacks too much of planning and that

    went out with flared trousers didnt it?

    Luis Hellman (Architects Journal, 1984)

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    The study concentrated on the areas that LDDC

    exercised the most control that being the public realm streets, squares, parks, water, quayside and river side

    The 1981 plan did not address major strategic issues

    such as transportation, land use, parcelization and

    social and cultural building provision

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Gordon Cullen (1981)

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Gordon Cullen (1981)

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Gordon Cullen (1981)

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Gordon Cullen (1981)

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Gordon Cullen (1981)

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • 1985 - TRAVELSTEAD/SOM MASTERPLAN

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    PLANNING:

    Defined and subdivided sequence of public open space

    Westferry Circus shifted closer to Thames River and opened towards City

    Separation of service and public systems by introduction of two level roadway system

    Parcel configuration distributed along quay edges, and provides for separation of trading and office uses

    Water courts and water easements introduced

    TRANSPORT, ROADWAYS & GARAGES:

    Dual Track DLR line above Plaza Level; open to above

    Multi-level parking and service network introduced

    3 levels of parking at West Ferry Circus

    5 levels of parking on Quay including parking at Plaza Level in Concourse

    Access via North and East Bridges to Plaza Level

    PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

    Ten million square feet of developed office and trading

    space

    DLR covered by roof structure

    Crescent introduced at Bellmouth Passage

    Three towers provided to mark major public spaces on

    Quay [SOM 1987].

    Travelstead intended to build the central infrastructure

    and sell 'pads' to individual builders, who would design

    and build their own office buildings. He wanted to ensure

    speedy and predictable approvals of individual buildings,

    so SOM prepared design guidelines for the site, which

    were approved by the LDDC and attached to the Master

    Building Agreement. The guidelines regulated the

    massing and height of the buildings, and shape and

    nature of public spaces [SOM 1987b].

  • TRAVELSTEAD VISION

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    The master plan and most of the architectural imagery

    of Canary Wharf came from Travelsteads consortium designed by SOM Chicago.

    Cesar Pelli proposed an obelisk form for the first tower,

    as the classical marker of an important place. The

    initial response of the architectural observers to Canary

    Wharf was hyper-critical: "Docklands monster unveiled"

    was a typical headline [Architectural Journal 1985:34].

    The sheer size of the project overwhelmed the small-

    scale industrial buildings on nearby Heron Quay

  • OLYMPIA & YORK MASTERPLAN - 1987

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    In 1987 O&Y signed an agreement with the LDDC.

    O & Y wanted to change the Canary Wharf design,

    but the LDDC resisted, since the transportation

    infrastructure was designed and ready for

    construction, and difficult road approvals had

    been obtained from Tower Hamlets and the

    Department of the Transit. However, the O & Y

    staff were determined to lower the seven level

    central spine to bring the public plaza closer to the

    water level. They also wanted to change the

    arrangement of the three towers.

    Although the Canary Wharf plan was to bring

    50,000 new jobs to the area it did not provide a

    housing scheme, and the diversification of uses

    suggested (shops, theatres, restaurants) were

    development for the ground level of buildings only.

    Integrated development of varied activities and

    built form were never concretely addressed.

  • OLYMPIA & YORK MASTERPLAN - 1991

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Design Guidelines prescribe colonnades,

    arcades, courtyards of certain dimensions,

    setbacks, materials and street wall

    articulation.

    These guidelines implemented by O & Y are

    an attempt to protect their own interests and

    generate a measure of public amenity.

  • WEST FERRY CABOT CANADA CHURCHILL

    CIRCLE SQUARE SQUARE PLACE

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    This creates a contained and inward

    looking space - with its unique

    location on the water, it certainly

    creates a great deal of isolation of the

    water.

    OLYMPIA & YORK MASTERPLAN - 1991

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    OLYMPIA & YORK MASTERPLAN - 1991

  • CANARY WHARF - 1990

    Canary Wharf is as a piece of urban design is simply abysmal. The layout is simplistic and banal, the architecture lumpy and mediocre - the whole looks like

    a chunk of some ageing, tired and dreary US downtown dropped from a great

    height on the Isle of Dogs. Francis Tibbald (Royal Town Planning Institute, The Architectural Review, 1988)

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • CANARY WHARF - 2009

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • Elements of urban design

    CIVIC SPACE

    MIXED USE

    OPEN SPACE

    RESIDENTIAL

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • Elements at Canary Wharf

    WORLD TRADE

    CENTRE

    RESIDENTIAL

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • Individuality/Self

    Private dwelling

    THE HOUSE

    Community/Agreement

    Public dwelling

    THE INSTITUTION

    Norberg-Shultz

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Norberg-Schultz says that personal and community identity

    is defined by the three modes of dwelling: exchange

    (collective dwelling), agreement (public dwelling) and self

    (private dwelling) and embodied in their associated

    manifestations of the total environment: the settlement

    (exchange), the institution (agreement) and the house (self).

    His analysis describes a world rooted in material reality, a

    sensual world of physical manifestation, enlivened and

    given meaning by memory and history. (The Concept of

    Dwelling, Christian Norberg-Schultz, 1985).

  • Individual

    Community

    Norberg-Shultz

    Exchange

    Collective dwelling

    THE SETTLEMENT

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • DWELLING THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT (Norberg-Shultz)

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Dwelling

    Concept

    Individuality Commonality Exchange

    Metaphysical Self

    Personal

    identity

    Personal

    expression

    Shared beliefs

    Civic values

    Political

    expressions

    Communication

    Commerce

    Relationships

    Physical Home

    Family unit

    Neighborhoods

    Shared

    institutions

    Integrated

    systems

    Infrastructure

    Urban space

    Common

    ground

    Community

  • EXCHANGE

    Collective dwelling

    Global Economy

    The Tower

    Individual / Self

    Privat Dwelling

    DWELLING CANARY WHARF?

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    DWELLING THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE ENVIRONMENT

    Dwelling

    Concept

    Individuality Exchange

    Metaphysical Self

    Personal identity

    Personal expression

    Communication

    Commerce

    Relationships

    Physical Office

    Business unit

    Tower complexes

    Urban private space

    Common ground

    International Finance

    Community

  • Christopher Alexander PATTERNS

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    HOW DOES THIS MANIFEST AS BUILT FORM?

    Public spaces and growth patterns

    BUT IN CANARY WHARF:

    total accelerated build-out vs incremental growth,

    and the resulting patterns of development

    International-style architecture

    limited Public Space in the form of plazas

  • tree-like framework semi-lattice framework

    Christopher Alexander URBAN PATTERN

    VS.

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    CANARY WHARF IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TRUNK

    IT IS JUST BEGINNING TO BECOME CONNECTED TO THE REST

    OF THE GREATER WHOLE ITS CONTEXT

  • SCALE: SUPER HUMAN VS HUMAN/INTIMATE (Allan Jacobs)

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • ONE CANADA SQUARE

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    50 storeys - 800 feet -3 on the wharf

    Was the tallest building in Europe at the time: Europes first skyscraper by Cesar Pelli & Associates

    Design resembles an obelisk, an Omphalos!

  • SUPER-HUMAN SCALE: ONE CANADA SQUARE

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    SUPER-HUMAN SCALE: ONE CANADA SQUARE

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    SUPER-HUMAN SCALE: ONE CANADA SQUARE

    Lack of detailing

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    PUBLIC SPACE

    Immense care has been taken to ensure that Canary Wharf is a green and pleasant place to be. This

    has involved the planting of:

    378 trees (most between 35 and 50 years old) of 20 different species including London Planes,

    English Oaks, Silver Limes, Red Oaks, Horse Chestnuts and Norway Maples.

    40,000 seasonal bedding plants, 4,000 shrubs of 88 different varieties and 83,500 winter, spring

    and autumn blooming bulbs.

    The fountain in Cabot Square is computer controlled and is capable of

    performing a variety of movements. A sensor detects wind strength and

    adjusts the water height accordingly to ensure that passers-by are not

    soaked in windy conditions.

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    PUBLIC SPACE

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    International Style architecture

    Design competitions were used to create the style for built form

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    International Style architecture

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    International Style architecture

  • VISUAL CORRIDORS

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    views to the outside were not respected or maintained except for a few very controlled ones

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    View from One Canada Place towards the City

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    View from One Canada Place towards Greenwich

  • but far more important is the view to Canary Wharf from the outside world!

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • CANARY WHARF STATION

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • OMPHALOS OF GLOBALIZATION

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Superhuman scale

    Exchange

    Global economy

    For whom?

    International capital

    Built form

    Limited public spaces

    International-style architecture

    Limited view corridors

    High-quality transportation

  • ISLE OF DOGS - 2014

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • COMMUNITY IN SURROUNDING AREAS

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Scale

    Human

    Exchange

    Education, new economy (local and global)

    For whom?

    Original, new residents

    Built form

    Modest housing

    Amenities

    Public space connected to water

  • RECOVERED HOUSING

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • SOCIAL HOUSING

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • LIVE AND WORK

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Public amenities such as schools, and grocery stores were not take

    into account in the designing of Canary Wharf this short fall has been addressed in the surrounding areas.

  • A pedestrian friendly public space

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

  • HIGH-END HOUSING

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Not all of the public amenity developments in the Docklands have

    taken into consideration the values of human/modest scale.

  • UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    The University of East

    London is a good example

    of some of the public

    amenities that the Canary

    Wharf development has

    attracted to the Docklands.

  • Success by numbers - 1

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    1.86 billion in public sector

    investment led to 7.7 billion in

    private sector investment

    762 ha of derelict land

    reclaimed

    144 km of new and improved

    roads

    Construction of Docklands Light

    Railway, Jubilee Line extension

    25 million sq. ft. of new

    commercial floor space

  • context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Success by numbers - 2

    24,046 homes built

    2,700 active businesses

    11 health centres

    11 primary schools

    2 secondary schools

    12 colleges and vocational

    training centres

    94 awards for architecture,

    conservation and landscaping

    85,000 now at work in London

    Docklands

  • Planning at the Canary Wharf

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Democracy?

    Suspension of boroughs planning powers

    No public consultation after sheep incident

    Development for whom?

    Financial interests first

    Local interests second

    Jobs for whom?

    Few jobs for Dockers

    Gentrification

  • Urban Design at Canary Wharf

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    Quote from Urban Design Quarterly in 1999:

    By the time Canary Wharf was rising to its dizzy fifty storeys in 1990, the Isle of Dogs

    had become an almost unique landscape of

    fragmentation, dislocation and large scale

    physical collage. Competition between

    developers resulted not in an orderly

    reconstruction of a wonderful watery

    peninsula, but a Los Angeles-like pattern of

    bulky glass office towers in a cityscape of

    parking areas, housing sites and low-rise

    factory units.

    The rejection of an urban design framework

    for the area led to islands of development

    insulated from each other by security

    fences, stretches of open water, and the

    remnants of a derelict Docklands landscape.

    These islands, some admittedly of interest

    from an architectural point of view, are

    unconnected urban entities. Each big

    development is an enclave of commercial

    prowess, inward looking and insular with

    public space on the inside, not out.

  • Scale and context

    context background process design development criticism conclusions

    No matter how you look at it, the

    Canary Wharf development is out

    of scale and out of context with

    the surrounding landscape

    One question that we asked is:

    What if there had only been one

    tower?

    We were in agreement that if there

    had only been one building, One

    Canada Square, then it could have

    been a unique London landmark,

    comparable to the Eiffel Tower in

    Paris.

    The surrounding buildings could

    have been lower, acting as a

    podium for the Obelisk.

    Now there are several towers,

    each with a bank signature on it

    Canary Wharf looks like an

    average North American Central

    Business District...

  • THE END

  • THE END ?

  • READINGS:

    Norberg-Shultz C. (1984), The concept of dwelling, Electa,

    Milan.