Great Eastern Quays To Continue Newham Jigsaw

Promising to fill in another part of the long running development jigsaw along the Royal Docks in eastern London is the residential-led development, Great Eastern Quays.

The scheme, which is proposed in outline and currently being considered by Newham has been designed by Maccreanor Lavington with Grontmij having done the landscape work. It's set to stand on a 6.2 hectare site at the far north eastern end of the Royal Docks with the Thames winding past the other side of the site. Gallions Quarter is the north-east of the site.

The project consists of 837 new residential units of which 23% will be three bedrooms or larger making them family friendly. Almost a third of the apartments will be affordable. In additions to this there will be extensive ground floor retail space, and the full-scale renovation of the areas around the dockside. The model of trying to make a waterfront destination with active street fronts and architectural continuity, as the architects are attempting here, is one that has been done with a varying degree of success at the now-completed Capital East.

The site is split into 8 distinct development zones, each with their own block, that reach up to 13-storeys in height that are designed to fit in with the nearby Gallions Quarter, the largest ongoing real-estate development in the immediate area.

Both schemes have their layouts articulated around the same principles of blocks ringing urban courtyards, and the rationalisation of the road network in the area that culminates in a cross road between two developments. A specific route from the local DLR station is even included to run through Gallions Quarter to the dockside at Great Eastern Quays.

Both schemes have a similar scale buildings along their perimeters of six or seven floors, taller buildings used as markers for key areas that in the case of Great Eastern Quays will stand alongside the Thames in the Riverfront area.
Maccreanor Lavington has based their approach here on previous work in the Netherlands that features open grass areas similar to those seen in the Barking Riverside proposals, but with the backdrop of strong rectangular buildings. This should act as a far western area on the north bank of the Thames for the ambitious plans of a continuous green area that will run all the way too Rainham Marsh and beyond, something that once more shows the project as part of a large scale jigsaw that one day may finally be finished.