A new canvas for life and a cultural ecosystem

Stratford Waterfront, East Bank, cements Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s post-Games legacy. The project brings together world-renowned institutions, V&A East Museum, London College of Fashion, UCL East, BBC Music Studios and Sadler’s Wells East, to form London’s most significant cultural district in 150 years. It is distinctive in every way, with public space that is an active and unifying ingredient.

East Bank’s ambition is bold: to mix education and culture in novel ways to engage and benefit younger and local audiences, creating a new ecosystem with the potential to change lives. All of the institutions are committed to broadening their appeal, with V&A East Museum, for example, targeting 18 to 30 year olds.

This new piece of city is quickly becoming a destination so compelling that it is rebalancing London, drawing people east. Over one hectare of public realm is designed using biophilic principles. This has created a flexible canvas that can support diverse events, establishing a unique relationship between performer, spectator and setting. The public terrace at V&A East Museum is already a city highlight.

It is hard to remember that before the 2012 Games, this place was scarred with heavily polluted waterways and a mountain of dumped fridges.

Design & Innovation

The public realm, uniting the four distinct institutions on Stratford Waterfront, has been described as a modern-day agora democratising the arts. It was designed as a ‘common ground’, a dynamic, biodiverse gathering place hosting art, performance and culture for the public. It features a year-round programme of free events, currently including ‘The Music Is Black’ festival, a collaboration involving all institutions.

An innovative, multifunctional design works hard to resolve complexity and constraint. Meeting these challenges shaped the development’s footprint and character. The landscape succeeds in uniting the shoulder-to-shoulder institutions, whilst taking inspiration from the Lea Valley’s legacy of industry, making and creativity. Movement from buildings into the public realm is fluid, with activated, community-focussed ground floors.

The site’s topography is steep. However, a podium design and generous terracing makes the most of an eight-metre level change to the river. The site’s infrastructure is concealed within the podium ensuring the space is clear and easy to move around. A south-facing waterfront promenade features cafés and restaurants with views over the Park. The terraces above are beautifully planted with seasonal colour amidst drifts of grasses. Planting is climate resilient and part of a SuDS system providing ecological value, carbon sequestration, nitrogen fixation and potential food sources, as well as wind and solar mitigation.

Improved access includes a new land bridge, and a 1:21 graded pathway runs through the terraces providing step-free access. Accessibility is aided by three new public lifts. The graded pathway includes niches for wheelchair users or pushchairs, with seating alongside.

Implementation

The masterplan and landscape design were developed through iterative engagement with local people, the cultural institutions, and accessibility groups founded during the 2012 Paralympic Games. This approach ensures everyone is included. Materiality of cast concrete, weathered metals and timber references the site’s historic industrial identity and its wider Lea Valley setting. The majority of the building façades and hard landscape are made from precast and in-situ concrete. Different finishes create variation in texture and appearance, revealing the aggregate used. The Park’s palette carries through, for example, with resin-bound gravel.

The way nature colonises post-industrial landscapes has inspired planting of the public realm and building roofscapes. It is designed as if seeds have blown in on the breeze and found a foothold to thrive. Seasonal colour comes from native and non-native species and there are 60 new semi-mature trees.

Soft lighting brings drama and a sense of romance to the terraces after dusk. The lighting balances twin needs: making the space feel safe and inviting without impacting the Park’s night-time ecology.

Significance

Stratford Waterfront is changing how we view and experience culture and how we use public space. Culture is harnessing the power of nature through design, acting as a catalyst for inclusion, change and community. There is a red neon sign above the door at Sadler’s Wells East that reads, ‘You are welcome’. This message is reinforced by truly invitational public space designed to support a multiplicity of life, accommodating the everyday and the extraordinary.

Client: LLDC
Lead Consultant: Allies & Morrison
Architects: Allies & Morrison, O’Donnell+Tuomey, Camps Felip Arquitecturia
Landscape Architect: LDA Design
Engineer: Buro Happold
Contractor: Mace

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