James DruryAre These London's Most Exciting Future Public Spaces?Centre Point Public Square/St Giles Circus - Camden (due for completion 2017). A large new south-facing public square will be created in the centre of this major rehaul. Earls Court Masterplan (due for completion 2030). It hopes to create 7,500 much-needed new homes and 10,000 new jobs for Londoners, based on the concept of ‘four villages and a high street’. Elephant Square (phase 1 due for completion 2016). The roundabout will go, subways will become pedestrian crossings, and there'll be improved cycling lanes. High Road West Masterplan, Tottenham, (design stage). Two new public spaces will appear alongside secure shared courtyards and private gardens. London Wall Place (due for completion summer 2017). A new garden will spring up here.Pop Brixton (due to open shortly). A new community hub created from low-cost, low-energy shipping containers.Thames Baths Project (due for completion 2017). Swimmers can bathe in naturally filtered river water pools and recreation space alongside the Victoria Embankment. The Goodsyard – Bishopsgate Goods Yard, Shoreditch (proposal). The redevelopment of this old station will introduce 5.45 acres of park and public realm.Walthamstow Wetland (due for completion Spring 2017). When it opens it'll be the largest urban wetland nature reserve in London. West End Square, Camden, (completion due 2018). Congested one-way streets will transform into two-way, tree-lined streets, with protected cycle lanes and new public spaces.
With 263 towers of more than 20 storeys set to be built in London, there's ever more pressure on the public spaces that surround them. Think Tank New London Architecture is inviting us to consider this in its current exhibition, but has also selected 10 forthcoming public spaces it says are the capital's 'most exciting'.
The think tank worked with designers, politicians and developers to decide the list, which includes some you'd expect — such as the Thames Baths project — and some of the more controversial developments in the city, such as at Earls Court, and the High Road West regeneration of Tottenham. Both these have come under criticism from people worried about being priced out of their home area.
The politics of regeneration aside, New London Architecture says the list aims to "demonstrate the most exciting, thought-provoking and forward-thinking projects that will transform the capital and set an international standard of 21st century living".
What do you think? Are you looking forward to spending time in these spaces? Let us know in the comments below.
