London, United Kingdom
London-based studio of SPPARC architects is responsible for the Boroughs Yards project, south London’s latest shopping and dining destination. The whole project is about a series of connecting yard spaces and streets weaved through an impressive Victorian brick-arched railway viaduct.
“From the very beginning, our aim was always to create an authentic place that successfully combines modern architecture within an established heritage setting. We wanted to naturally extend the existing pedestrian experience without the feeling of crossing a threshold into a new development – providing the discovery of something familiar but with a point of difference, using history and heritage to inform the new and modern additions. The heritage context and the area’s character played a key role in the design development, explains SPPARC principal Trevor Morriss.
The initial proposal incorporated retained façades of forgotten warehouses which were meant to sensitively blend into the new Borough Yards district, providing elevations to two, six-story office buildings.
Restoring and rejuvenating an important part of south London’s Victorian railway heritage, the project re-purposes 8,500sqm of existing railway arches. Our design weaves together historic fabric with contemporary architecture and new public spaces to open up the site to its Bankside context and bring new pedestrian permeability and amenities to the area.
The once divisive Victorian brick railway viaducts will be opened up to allow for pedestrian lanes. The scheme’s design engages with existing fabric and patterns of pedestrian movement to integrate new architecture and re-purposed structures into a complex urban context.
Inspired by Victorian terraces bounding its Stoney Street site, the long elevation of the largest new building incorporates a series of folds that respond to the rhythm of the townscape whilst reaffirming the re-emergence of the location.
A strategic approach to design includes landscaping and street furniture for newly created public spaces and yards. Several historic local street names will be revived within Borough Yards, including Dirty Lane, Clink Yard, and Soap Yard.
Project: Borough Yards
Architects: SPPARC Studio
Photographers: Ed Reeve
