London's Nine Elms is one of Europe's biggest regeneration zones: 18,000 new homes, a Damien Hirst gallery and a thriving cultural quarter
A 'new global city' is being built on the south bank of the Thames - with a cultural quarter that aims to bring the energy, authenticity and edginess that defines a modern city.
A grand plan to create a major new cultural quarter at Nine Elms and Vauxhall, one of Europe’s biggest regeneration zones, has been unveiled this week. It is an ambitious initiative to combat the criticism that this fledgling riverside district, where 18,000 homes are to be dropped into the landscape within a decade, lacks soul and a sense of community.
Some will fear it will end up being a land of absentee owners, investors and transitory renters. However, city planners and developers are spearheading a project for this shiny new neighbourhood with “fresh urban thinkers” who know how global cities should evolve.
Some will fear it will end up being a land of absentee owners, investors and transitory renters. However, city planners and developers are spearheading a project for this shiny new neighbourhood with “fresh urban thinkers” who know how global cities should evolve.
The process is known as “cultural placemaking”, where the arts are not a cuddly vanity project for some rich philanthropist, but embedded into the area and woven into its architectural fabric, helping to engage local residents and foster a sense of belonging. Well, that’s the theory.
World-renowned architects are shaping the landscape with showpiece glassy and glossy buildings — satellite projects linked to the born-again Battersea Power Station. Public spaces, including a riverside park, are being designed with art and community participation in mind — for theatre and dance performances, events, markets and exhibitions — while buildings awaiting redevelopment are being handed over to pop-ups.
World-renowned architects are shaping the landscape with showpiece glassy and glossy buildings — satellite projects linked to the born-again Battersea Power Station. Public spaces, including a riverside park, are being designed with art and community participation in mind — for theatre and dance performances, events, markets and exhibitions — while buildings awaiting redevelopment are being handed over to pop-ups.
The power station’s developer has even appointed a director of design and placemaking, David Twohig, to deliver a strategy for a rich and diverse programme of cultural events. “The spaces inbetween the buildings are as important as the buildings themselves,” he says.
Circus West, the first residential phase of the power station, includes a contemporary take on the traditional village hall, while the original boiler house and control room will be cultural venues.
Royal College of Art’s Battersea campus, a recent arrival, is an artistic hub with influence that is spreading to the less glamorous Lambeth and Wandsworth hinterland, where there is an established network of galleries and studios. The college has forged a relationship with developer St James by opening StudioRCA at the swish Riverlight apartment complex at Nine Elms where homes are priced from £800,000. Call 020 7870 9620.
Coming soon is Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery, which will house the artist’s personal art collection of 2,000 pieces, including works by Banksy and Jeff Koons.
Circus West, the first residential phase of the power station, includes a contemporary take on the traditional village hall, while the original boiler house and control room will be cultural venues.
Royal College of Art’s Battersea campus, a recent arrival, is an artistic hub with influence that is spreading to the less glamorous Lambeth and Wandsworth hinterland, where there is an established network of galleries and studios. The college has forged a relationship with developer St James by opening StudioRCA at the swish Riverlight apartment complex at Nine Elms where homes are priced from £800,000. Call 020 7870 9620.
Coming soon is Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery, which will house the artist’s personal art collection of 2,000 pieces, including works by Banksy and Jeff Koons.
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| From £800,000: Riverlight at Nine Elms will host StudioRCA, launched by the Royal College of Art. Call 020 7870 9620 Opening this summer, the new space is a redevelopment of listed warehouses where Hirst’s famous spot paintings are produced. It occupies the entire length of a street once considered the wrong side of the tracks. But this grittier side of Vauxhall is changing fast, with the hipsters moving in, and developers offering cheaper loft-style apartments. Ironically, a nearby fine art storage warehouse belonging to auctioneer Christie’s is making way for The Residence — 510 homes, 76 of which are classified as “affordable” available on a shared-ownership basis. To register, call Bellway on 01689 886400. Charles Asprey’s Cabinet Gallery is also scheduled to open later this year. If Nine Elms Vauxhall is set to become the new Barbican, it will certainly be more navigable than the celebrated arts venue, with a linear park linking the individual developments — 29 sites across 482 acres — and a well marked-out culture trail across the district. A “promenade of curiosities” will connect Lambeth’s pocket parks to Vauxhall Cross. Read More - ES |
