Tall & Urban News

The developers behind Bishopsgate Goodsyard have unveiled a drastic, lower-rise redesign of the controversial City fringe scheme, including the removal of a row of skyscrapers by PLP.  

Joint venture Hammerson and Ballymore’s new “urban quarter” for the 4.2-hectare complex site surrounding Shoreditch High Street Station, by new master planner FaulknerBrowns, is currently out for consultation. 

The downsized scheme sees the original cluster of six towers of up to 46 stories dropping to 29, with the number of homes slashed from 1,356 to 250. 
Instead of towers along Sclater Street, the residential element will now be housed in mid-rise mansion blocks of between seven and 14 stories.  

It also includes 130,000 square meters of offices and affordable workspace, 16,260 square meters of retail, a 250-to-300-bed hotel and an elevated park above the historic Grade II-listed Braithwaite Viaduct. 

Farrells’ original masterplan, which was submitted in 2014, faced some resistance over the low levels of affordable housing and fears the skyscrapers would tower over neighboring Spitalfields. 

Unusually, the mayors of both local planning authorities campaigned against the development, with Hackney’s then-leader Jules Pipe launching a petition against the scheme. 

When Sadiq Khan took over as mayor and made the scheme’s chief opponent Jules Pipe his chief planner at the GLA, the developer asked for more time to “evolve the design.”  

The new scheme, with BuckleyGrayYeoman retained alongside Spacehub and Chris Dyson Architects, will be submitted to the GLA in early 2019 as an amendment to the existing application.  

PLP stated recently that it had walked away from the project in 2016 by mutual agreement. 

Nick Perry of the Hackney Society opposed the original Goodsyard application. He said while the “devil was in the detail”, it was clear the scheme has been “significantly” scaled back. 

“It remains to be seen to what extent the latest revisions address the many and various concerns of local community groups,” he said, “but it’s clear the reduction in height will address the most serious of the light and amenity concerns, although to the severe detriment to the potential provision of housing.”  

Perry added that the new routes through the site would appear to offer a “much more satisfactory” connection to the local streetscape. 

For more on this story go to Architect’s Journal.  

Meanwhile, guidance has been provided for a new wave of skyscraper developments in the City of London.  

The City of London Corporation has opened the door to a new wave of towers and an overhaul of one of its main routes as part of draft new local and transport plans. 

The local authority wants to encourage the development of new towers able to provide an “iconic image of the City” that will enhance its global standing in the finance, professional services and commerce sectors. 

Its draft plan, which aims to map out policies to 2036, stated: “Further tall buildings will be encouraged where they can make a positive contribution to their surroundings and the skyline, adding to the tall building cluster in the east of the City.” 

The City currently has 53 buildings over 75 meters in height with 14 more in the planning pipeline, 10 of which are situated within the City cluster. 
That cluster, centered on the trio of skyscrapers on the 224-meter Leadenhall Building, the under-construction 278-meter 22 Bishopsgate and the planned 290-meter 1 Undershaft, is expected to spread southwards towards the 20 Fenchurch Street tower. 

Employment in the City cluster is forecast to rise from 115,000 to 200,000 if all towers currently in the planning pipeline are completed. 
The City of London Corporation said the increase in density will have an impact on footfall, as well as put more pressure on public transport and the surrounding roads– some of which may close temporarily or be pedestrianized. 

This is expected to drive several road improvements and remodeling of several key transport arteries, including Bishopsgate, which leads from London Bridge to Liverpool Street station.  

The borough is seeking to work with Transport for London, which operates the main thoroughfare, to turn the Bishopsgate corridor into a key walking route. 
The transport plan states: “A street’s position in the hierarchy will be one factor that helps inform decisions on how space is allocated between different users and uses of that street.” 

The City’s draft transport plan includes the first of its new healthy street plans, roads and streets will be redesigned to introduce pedestrian priority, improve the experience of walking and cycling, and enhance the public realm. 

The first three healthy street plans are expected to be developed by 2022 and will cover the Barbican and Smithfield, Bank and Guildhall, and the City cluster and Fenchurch Street, which will be linked to the Fenchurch Street Station upgrade. 

For more on this story go to Construction News.