Battersea Heartlands

Sunday, 14 October 2012

Nine Elms Transformation

The Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership was created in 2010 to coordinate and drive forward the transformation of an entire district of Central London. Co-chaired by the leaders of Wandsworth and Lambeth Council, it includes the area’s main developers and landowners, the Mayor of London, Transport for London and the Greater London Authority.

The transformation area

The regeneration area spans 195 hectares of central London on the South Bank of the River Thames – walking distance from the Houses of Parliament, Sloane Square, Tate Britain, Battersea Park and Oval Cricket Ground.
The distinct extends from Lambeth Bridge in the north, to Chelsea Bridge in the south, covering the Albert Embankment, Vauxhall and a large slice of north Battersea. Westminster lies directly opposite on the north bank of the Thames. It is by far the largest regeneration zone in central London and includes the last remaining industrial stretch of the South Bank.

A journey through the Battersea Power Station designs that never were...

Work on Battersea Power Station’s redevelopment will allegedly start soon, after a two decade delay that would put the world’s most dedicated procrastinators to shame.

I found this great article on Time Out that plots the different design proposal that have been tabled since 1993, when Battersea closed

Back in 1983, the owners held a competition, seeking ideas for how the site could be used in the future. The winning concept, pictured below, was a rather off-the-wall to idea to turn it into a museum of industry and London history.

.The proposal included a ship moored alongside and blimp floating above.

A cross-section of the proposal shows zones dedicated to Pepys’ London, the Great Fire, coal mining, the Blitz, a Dan Dare space ride and a mini-submarine ride.

Friday, 12 October 2012

Eyesore-it...

Battersea Power Station comes clean about it's sordid past....

Thursday, 11 October 2012

Team Name and Concepts

Firstly I've been thinking the team name.... how about the Urban Surgeons

Secondly I've been thinking about concepts/sketch design.

On Tuesday Julian, Sarah and I had a mini brain storm about our ideas for the site:

This was the initial concept diagram... well received during the crit, but considered a little too analogue...

Refined to include key design features/opportunities...

Then we drew a rough diagram of how this would fit into the site:

Then the idea of a green engine with cogs evolved. From the feedback we got during the crit we need to move forward with a more organic form of this engine concept. I drew a quick sketch just after the crit, which I showed Julian. These are some refinements of that sketch:

Julian has taken this to a new level:

So thats where we are in the scheme of things. It would be great if we could all leave a comment saying what we think of this idea so far. You should include any reservations, extra ideas, new ideas etc

Then if everyone can bring thoughts, diagrams, rough sketch designs to the meeting on Monday

BBC article on the High Line

New York's High Line: Why cities want parks in the sky

As is widely know.... In August 1999, local architectural enthusiasts Joshua David and Robert Hammond went along to a public meeting to discuss the future of the High Line.

Within months the two New Yorkers - variously described as total amateurs and neighbourhood nobodies - founded the Friends of the High Line, a charity that has gone on to transform the abandoned railway line into a wildly successful new kind of public space - part-beach, part-park, and part-promenade.

Includes an interview with Robert Hammond, co-founder of the High Line.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19872874