Deutsch 21st Century London/Regeneration
BATTERSEA POWER STATION REGENERATION
Optional extension to Nine Elms development incl. new American Embassy
See the remarkable and imaginative redevelopment of Battersea Power Station. The industrial wharves and riverfront have been transformed into impressive gardens. The centrepiece of the residential development is by Frank Gehry – his first housing project in the UK. Only being up close to, and inside the power station can one fully appreciate the monumental scale of the building and the well-preserved Art Deco and 50’s interiors of the two turbine halls – now a shopping mall.
The Nine Elms Development is a complete and rather depressing but never-the-less interesting contrast to Battersea, ½ mile up river near Vauxhall. This can be done as an extension to the Battersea visit. (1 ½ hrs £10 extra)
KINGS CROSS REGENERATION – IT’S STILL ALL CHANGE
Currently Europe’s largest city centre regeneration scheme the once seedy area of Kings Cross has been reborn as a vibrant new mixed use development, including the new home to the University of the Arts, Aga Khan centre, Google’s HQ, flats, shops and art centres. Over 20 old buildings have found new uses, coal drops have become a shopping centre and a gas holder had become a park. Gardens by Dan Pearson, and other leading landscape designers.
LONDON’S NEW ‘FAR EAST’ – THE ROYAL DOCKS AND SILVERTOWN (3 hrs or full day)
Best done in summer/autumn – it is v. exposed – but glorious on a sunny day!
The development of this massive expanse has been a very stop/start affair, from the failed 2012 Olympic ‘Pleasure Park’, and Boris Johnson’s 2013 much trumpeted £1.7bn Asian Business Park now a ghost town at Gallions Reach, to the successful redevelopment of the erstwhile Silvertown industrial site. The pace has now picked up with the opening of the Elizabeth Line and the relocation of City Hall to the Crystal building in Royal Victoria Dock.
(Needs a full day 10.30 – 3.30pm to do the area justice, but shorter sections can be explored in 3hr visit).
NEW SKYSCRAPERS OF THE CITY – The Post-Brexit/Covid Effect
In its 2000yr. history the City has faced many cataclysmic events, the Great Fire and Blitz, end of Empire and ‘Big Bang’, and each time it has risen metaphorically and literally ‘from the ashes’. Now comes the challenge of Brexit/post Covid distance-working. In response the City has developed a new strategy which is reflected (yes double meaning intended!) in its new buildings. Get a real flavour of the City rising to the challenge of the next phase in its history (2 ½ hrs +).
NINE ELMS DEVELOPMENT (incl. new American Embassy)
The redevelopment of the industrial area of Nine Elms just over Vauxhall Bridge is a complete and rather depressing yet interesting contrast to Battersea Power Station, ½ mile down river. Home to the relocated American Embassy, it was flagged as being the new Belgravia! But Covid, the volatility of the Chinese economy and over-promotion has resulted in what a recent article in the Guardian dubbed ‘the Nightmare on Nine Elms Street’ . This can be done as an extension to the Battersea visit. (1 ½ hrs £10 extra)
PADDINGTON BASIN AND LITTLE VENICE REBORN Incl. pit stop in one of London’s best preserved Victorian Pubs www.theprincealfred.com (weekday afternoons only)
This is truly varied walk ranging from the architectural wonders of Paddington station, the elegant grand stuccoed Georgian villas and decorated canal boats of Little Venice, to the 21c.regeneration of the old Paddington canal basin now a vibrant residential/business hub. (incl. pub stop 3hr.+). Walk can run mornings and weekends – but at these times the pub is too busy for a pit stop.
STRATFORD + THE QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK The Olympic Park has now been transformed into a public park, and the areas surrounding it are being redeveloped progressively. I can offer a variety of walks in and around the park concentrating on different themes from landscape design to regeneration. (Walks will be around 3 – 31/2 hrs, but can be curtailed or extended to full days incl. lunch – on request).
TRINITY BUOY WHARF via LONDON CITY ISLAND
A visit to an unusual cultural centre based at the mouth of the River Lea in Docklands, now repurposed as a base for artists – imaginatively housed in recycled shipping containers.. The original buildings, owned by Trinity House to maintain their navigational equipment still exist as does Faraday’s experimental lighthouse. In addition to the ‘container village’ it is home to an interesting mix of outdoor sculpture, art installations and historical maritime exhibits. On route we will walk through London City Island, a new development on the peninsula at the mouth of the river Lea. At its heart is the new home of English National Ballet.