Deutsch 21st Century London
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)
THE OPEN WATER AND GREEN SPACES OF CANARY WHARF
If you associate Canary Wharf with a jungle of glass, steel and concrete – think again. The open stretches of water give a feeling of air and space between the buildings. This walk covers the history of the area, with lots of visual aids to show the sheer scale of the 19c docks. But its emphasis in on the open waters and imaginative landscaping of its green spaces, the most impressive of which is 300m long Elizabeth Line Station Roof garden.
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)
SKYSCRAPERS OF THE CITY
A walk concentrating on the new skyscrapers changing the skyline of the City. Starting at what the planners call the ‘Eastern Cluster’ around Bishopsgate, the walk explores the modern architecture of the Eastern area of the City, crossing London Bridge to see the City from across the river and to end under the Shard.
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).