Big Plans For Londons Lewisham Gateway

Big Plans For Londons Lewisham Gateway

The game is afoot to build a new cluster of semi-tall buildings in east London in the centre of Lewisham in a substantial new regeneration effort.

Called Lewisham Gateway, the project is positioned as far south of Canary Wharf as Stratford City is to the north. It will effectively extend the sixties Riverdale shopping centre that is next door and also contains a tower, Lewisham House, creating a brand new centre whilst laying right next to Lewisham Railway Station. The site is also within walking distance of Greenwich and Deptford.

The scheme is envisioned to be a series of largely residential buildings with offices, a new college and cinema occupying lower parts of the buildings with retail taking up the vast bulk of the ground level areas they will contain.

The public realm will be extensive and include a park, a forecourt for the DLR station, a new public plaza called St Stephens Square and a second one called Confluence Place. With a river running under it, there will also be access to the water reengineering both Ravensbourne and Quaggy rivers.

The tallest buildings are indicated in the masterplan to be aimed at a height of 70 and 77 metres in the "high housing zone". Others will be in the 34-47 and 16-28 ranges creating a great variety in heights rather than just a monolithic appearance and a complexity not usually found within a single development.

The key factor in the positioning of the building is not the visual appearance but rather the effects that their massing will have on the shadows they cast. In a highly urbanised area this can be a contentious issue but here the shadows will generally avoid surrounding buildings whilst the lack of tall buildings in the plan to the south and east will allow good levels of sunlight penetration.

Materials will be ultra modern with plenty of light cladding, and in particular white giving a good reflection of brightness. Secondary elements will be in metal or silvery grey whilst its hoped that timber decking can be used as a paving material, particularly in the areas near the rivers.

The scheme has been planned by Arup Associates for developers Amec and Taylor Woodrow with the local council amongst the landowners hoping to cash in. The next step of the £250 million project will be detailed architectural design of the buildings within the Gateway master-plan.

There's no estimated date yet on when they expect things to finish so this one should run and run.

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