Waterfront developments

 Waterfront Developments - 'Designing Permeability'

How can we integrate the the Thames waterfront with the Battersea site?  This was one of the debates the team had today... moreover, it was agreed that permeability of the land in relationships to the river is a key concept to explore.  How do we integrate the river and land in a meaningful way?  Can we design permeability? Examples of good developments:


Toronto Central Waterfront - West 8
The Central Waterfront extends along 3.5 km along Lake Ontario and in direct proximity to the downtown business district.

The Primary Waterfront – a continuous water’s edge promenade, with a series of pedestrian bridges;  the Secondary Waterfront – a recalibrated Queens Quay Boulevard with a new urban promenade and public spaces at the heads-of-slips; the Floating Waterfront – a series of floating elements that offer new boat moorings and public spaces in relation to the lake, and; the Cultures of the City – connections from Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods towards the waterfront.

The Central Waterfront extends along 3.5 km along Lake Ontario and in direct proximity to the downtown business district. It is one of Toronto’s most valuable assets, yet, despite decades of planning and patchwork development projects, there was no coherent vision for linking the pieces into a greater whole – visually or physically.  In this context, the fundamental objective of the project was to address this deficiency by creating a consistent and legible image for the Central Waterfront, in both architectural and functional terms.

In Battersea, the Power Station is the most valuable cultural asset, set within a mixed cultural and social landscape (Victoria, Battersea and Nine Elms).  Our design process should look to developing a similar coherent vision for linking and spaces, while maximizing the most valuable assets in the landscape (power station and river).

http://www.west8.nl/projects/toronto_central_waterfront/