Barge Living: The Next Generation

Barges may be seen as the recluse of eccentrics and ex-Londonistas, but thanks to some enterprising architects and their AutoCAD skills, they're being dragged unwittingly into the modern era. The entry displayed here, which won a competition to remodel five barges for a scheme at Wood Wharf in Docklands, features all the tricks of contemporary design: pleasant curves, wood cladding, solar panels, a random mixture of upper- and lower-case lettering, and the usual promotional guff - the barges will "challenge perceptions of waterspace design as well as delivering a sustainable and flexible live/work space". So they'll end up with home workers and a branch of Leon with a riverside view, then. This design, along with other entries, is on display at Barge: Breathing new life into Docklands, an exhibition at New London Architecture, WC1E 7BT (map), until June 27th.