East London’s identity and urban fabric continues to change at rapid pace. The current driver of change comes in form of predominant residential development for capital gain, that features high densities with a focus to address the acute shortage within the housing market. While those new schemes provide solutions to the quantitative problem, questions about relationships to surrounding context, public realm and future adaptability often seem less resolved. This phenomenon contributes to a fragmentation and negative effects onto the public domain, especially noticeable at street level.
The discussion about urban renewal and regeneration at times marginalises the critical importance that neighbourhoods are underpinned by civic places of everyday life and architectures of social encounter, where a shared idea of city is that of an inclusive place to live, work and play. Thereby spaces for recreational, educational and cultural activities are especially important. Consequences related to this conflict are the matter of this years research and design investigation.
We set out to adopt an alternative approach to spatial production of civic spaces and critical architectures, that will complement predominant development to generate social capital, inclusive diversity, well-being and pursue the idea of the compact city.