Plans were unveiled today for the proposed buildings that would replace Market Towers at One Nine Elms.It's the usual stuff really - tall buildings - tall enough to overshadow the St George Wharf Tower. There is a talk of a public area at the top of the taller building a theatre somewhere at the bottom.
Oh, and the usual "entrance to the linear park".
No green space to speak of.
The site has "potential for":
- New homes: up to 450 apartments, a mix of one, two and three bed private and affordable apartments, each will have a private winter garden and access to communal facilities such as a gym (including a spa and pool) and a roof top garden on the West Tower podium
- Hotel: a 180 room 4* hotel located in the podium of the West Tower
- Offices: over 100,000ft2 of modern high quality office space located in the podium of the West Tower
- Employment: providing significant employment opportunities including jobs for local residents with, in the longer term, 500-600 people being employed in a wide variety of jobs
- Public square: a new public square with shops, restaurants and cafés, offering high quality shopping and dining
- Cultural and community space: whilst we are considering a number of ideas, one of our preferred options is to create a cultural and art based experience at the top of the building. This has the potential to include a large scale work of art visible from ground level. The area would be accessible to the public, offering breathtaking views over London
- Improving pedestrian and cycle access through Vauxhall: this will allow easy access to the river front, as well as creating a route up to Vauxhall Park and connecting the South Bank to Battersea through the linear park
Update: 17 September 2011. Rosemary from Albert Square sent me this picture with the message "God trying to send out another message today?"
I no longer know what to say. Bored of tall building proposals that offer nothing to the neighbourhood, architecturally, culturally or socially - especially for the existing population.
ReplyDeleteBut, but, but... What about all those high quality shopping and dining experiences?
ReplyDelete"But, but, but... What about all those high quality shopping and dining experiences?"
ReplyDeleteI hope the thousands that are going to flock to live in Vauxhall in these new building enjoy them. I'm happy with what we've got already.
Andrew Nunn
Heyford Avenue
I think this proposal is still very much in its infancy. I spoke with the architect and the planner of this and they were very engaging. Unlike all the other consultations, they actually said that they had been working with CLS and Kylun to develop a more conhesive development, but that there is only so far that they can go. I still maintain that vauxhall will suceed or fail on not the height of the buildings but the urban design. In this area Lambeth have the most responsibility to lead the process. And what have they done? Nothing
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I think that Vauxhall Cross does have a dearth of eateries, particularly in terms of the range of cuisines offered. More would be welcomed, but seeing as St. George Wharf has struggled to fill its retail units, I can only presume that such proposals may not be commercially viable here... yet.
ReplyDeleteI think Michael's hit the nail on the head with his comment. I am not so bothered by the size of these buildings, as there's limited risk of overshadowing of local parkland / other homes, BUT of vital importance is the design of the urban realm at the ground.
Of course, removing the gyratory would be a winner... but TfL won't do this as they consider the Vauxhall gyratory to be a critical part of the capital's road infrastructure.
I agree Mark - I can't understand why there isn't more action around the St. George Wharf area. Seems like a huge captive audience, but the place always looks dead. Do you think there are a lot of uninhabited residential units?
ReplyDeleteI think that part of St. George Wharf's problem is that passing traffic simply doesn't know what bars / restaurants there are on the riverside - try explaining to someone who doesn't know Vauxhall how to get to either The Riverside or Aqua. It's not easy.
ReplyDeleteAnecdotally I've also heard that St. George Wharf contains a curious mix of investment properties and city workers who invariably are working very long hours and may retreat to a family home in the country at the weekend. It may not be the hotbed of potential customers that you might expect.
In the original design of St George Wharf, what is now Aquarius house (the new bit on the corner) was originally going to be a hotel, which would have created a lot of additional custom for local bars and restaurants. After having received planning consent, St. George later claimed to Lambeth that a hotel there was not economically viable, and petitioned to have the consent changed to allow apartments to be built instead.
...which is why I'm now a little skeptical of developers saying that they will build a hotel in their development. I think hotels are great (employment + generates custom for local businesses) but history shows that they may be used as a mechanism to get planning consent, only for subsequent amendments to be made.
The hotel ploy is an interesting dynamic. Residents and Planning like to flatter ourselves that the borough will host a new, south-of-the-river Ritz, plus it will provide some local employment as well. So the developer puts in in the plan which eases its passage. Then they go actually ask a hotel if they'd like to set up shop, and the response comes back "Are you daft? People looking for a five star hotel want to stay in the City or Mayfair." And thus it is not economically viable. Already the Riverlight development is downgrading and downsizing its four-star hotel to a smaller three-star one because of economic viability. Would it not be possible to ask the actual decision maker, the hotel operator before approving permission?
ReplyDeleteBlimey, I hadn't even heard of Riverlight
ReplyDeletehttp://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/st-james/riverlight
Andrew is right - The St James' development just didn't activate any local radar or controversy . However, Riverlight seems to be the one development ... and a big one that will get out of the ground soonest.
ReplyDeleteOf course if they specify part of the development as a four* hotel+- they are not going to be able to sell it as Matt Says while Vauxhall is as it is. Rather surprised that the planners still permit this route through to additional flat development.
Interested to know if anyone wants to create a forum for joined up discussion of the Vauxhall Nine Elms development.- An Umbrella Group of the interested parties that already exist?
I would like to see an indoor community tennis centre and a 50m swimming pool built within this spectacularly large inner city development.
Any other good items on the wish list?? Secondary Schools are unlikely to be thought appropriate. Wandsworth consider that all of the future child "yield" will go to Private schools......... Doesn't stop any of us feeling subversive to ask for one?
Nice ideas Rosemary
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see a library. Or at least that we keep the one we already have which is by no means certain.
I believe there used to be "a forum for joined up discussion of the Vauxhall Nine Elms development" but Lambeth has axed that:
http://southeasteleven.blogspot.com/2011/08/lambeth-council-axes-vauxhall-nine-elms.html
Peter P has just pointed out another VNEB development where they've dropped the idea of a hotel: http://www.scribd.com/doc/66397376
ReplyDelete