Design a Future Park

The Design a Future Park project is an exciting new adventure by the Architecture Crew and young people of Newham. As part of the larger Lea River Park development, the project will turn ideas into actual design proposals for new parks along the linear stretch of green space newly named the Fatwalk - a 6km long corridor of green space consisting of parkland, cycle routes, footpaths, towpaths and new bridges running from East India Dock Basin to the Olympic Park. The project aims to support and engage young people from local boroughs such as Newham and Tower Hamlets in developing their ideas and creating designs for the park areas of the Fatwalk. 

A series of workshops will begin the exploration of the landscape and industrial history of the Lea River area from Three Mills Green to East India Dock Basin through mapping, drawing, collage, sculpting and model making activities. In these workshops the young people will create designs and models for both generic and specific sites along the Fatwalk’. From the workshops the Architecture Crew will develop the design outcomes into a visual and online story and summer event; where further workshops may be held, in order to highlight to the local people of Newham and Tower Hamlets exciting new visions and designs created by the young people. They also hope to enter successful designs into specific competitions to facilitate the realisation of their ideas.

With funding from the Youth Opportunity Fund and additional support from the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation and 5^th Studio, the Architecture Crew has taken up the design challenge of two key sites; the Poplar Reach Linear Park and the challenging A13 Connector to be explored through two days of workshops.

The Architecture Crew want to raise awareness of how young people can play a leading role in designing and shaping their local landscapes. The overarching goal for the project is to see one or a series of designs translated in real life.

The Lea River Valley

The Lea Valley Regional Park stretches for 26 miles from Ware in Hertfordshire to East India Dock Basin at the River Thames. The landscape of the park ranges from rural to industrial and urban. The Lea River Park is a new project in East London that will form a southern corridor of green open space in a currently industrial and fragmented area. The Fatwalk; a proposed green connecting path from East India Dock Basin to the Olympic Site, will transform the area and extend the green corridor from Hertfordshire to the Thames through the injection of six new park areas and connecting routes as an overall strip of parkland. 

The urban pattern in the Lower Lea Valley is one of fragmentation, disjunction and diversity – the legacy of wartime destruction, industry and several generations of redevelopment projects, which have little connection to their surroundings either architecturally or in terms of access and movement. Covering the boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney the development project aims to provide a sustainable mixed-use district and enable transformation of the lower Lea Valley to fulfil the under provision of leisure attractions, green and open space in these areas in comparison to other boroughs.

The development will run in two phases, firstly concentrating on the East India Dock Basin, Three Mills Green and Fatwalk and secondly on Abbey Mills, Twelve Trees Crescent, Poplar River Park and Exotic Wild, all currently in the design process.

The Architecture Crew were firstly introduced to the overall vision for the Lea River Park by 5th Studio and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation. They then undertook a site visit and developed their own design brief. 

Workshop Day 2

With such a great first day of exciting debate and ideas the young people were keen to get stuck into model making and visualising their proposals in 3D form. For the Linear Park space each section was divided between the group as individual ideas, which would come together as a connecting model at the end of the session. These sections included a pond, bike bumps, skate park, sport courts, cultural gardens and river café. The A13 connector site was tackled by one adventurous young person who took on the challenge with bold ideas.

After a day of intense model making the young people came together to present their ideas to Julia Humphreys from the Thames Gateway Development Corporation. A series of terrific models were produced from innovative, creative and fun concepts devised solely by the young people and received positive feedback with the possibility of translation into real sites!

Workshop Day 1

Day one of the workshops focused on brainstorming, drawing and planning through mind maps, window drawings, sketching, developing ideas and proposing site plans. Initial brainstorming about existing parks and their pro’s and con’s ensued a rich group conversation between the young people regarding size, open and closed space, interaction and safety of local, national and international parks. Key questions such as what do parks of the future need? And how do you young people want their landscape and immediate environment to be shaped? were raised and debated. Some amazing and complex ideas came out of the session supported by a range of rich and detailed visualisation.

News

London Festival of Architecture - exhibition at Three Mills

Design a Future Park recently exhibited at Three Mills as part of the London Festival of Architecture.  The event was held on Sunday 27th June and attracted a range of local and regional visitors.  Here are some pictures of the event and exhibition set up from and within Fundamental’s van!

RIBA Competition
Forgotten Spaces’ aim is to seek out areas of London that are under used and explore their possibilities. Inviting architects, artists and designers to propose solutions for forgotten spaces whether it be a building, public art or sports facilities. Its ethos is of regeneration that is sustainable and viable from a ‘grass roots’ approach. Having seen the call out for this submission the Lea River Park and Design a Future Park project stood out with the two sites we were designing for. The decision of which to enter came down to specifications on the brief which allowed a process of natural selection to occur between the two models. The A13 Connector site was developed into the proposal ‘Testing Ground’.

Testing Ground aims to create a unique outside project space or more appropriately as the name suggests a ‘testing ground’ showcasing artworks and projects on a temporary basis by employing a project space ethos.

Testing Ground will transform a currently challenging and very much forgotten space into a unique public art space that will showcase artworks and projects of various mediums, concepts and stages of development. The sites uniqueness will also stem from the method of experiencing the work, that of from above. As visitors walk from the A13 and Ecology Park or from the new Poplar Bridge and forthcoming linear park proposed as part of the Lea River Park development they will experience new proposals and artworks below their feet.

Testing Ground will create an exciting challenge for artists wanting to work with local communities to develop new ideas and a rare encounter for commuters, visitors and local residents. Along with this utilisation of space below this proposal suggests a safe and accessible high level walkway on top of the gallery structure as a viewing point and slopping pathway allowing access for all.

Testing Ground is a proposal that has evolved with local young people. It will respond to an expected increase in visitors to the area and create a new and useable space where contemporary art and emerging ideas will be accessible to all. The location of the space and the potential for large screens will enable the development of a mixed income model with the potential of commercial advertising revenue and partnership working with key stakeholders involved in the regeneration of East London. Testing Ground will be a space for communities, creatives, students and innovative thinkers to develop their ideas and a showcase for a new type of artistic network in the area will be born.