Creating a new gateway to Canning Town

A complex and challenging location, the 2.48 hectare linear site is bounded by the DLR and Jubilee line to the west and Silvertown Way to the east – Britain’s first flyover which since 1934 has severed the site from Canning Town.

Through a partnership of collaborative working between multiple stakeholders, consultants and architects, Brunel Street Works has been transformed into a vibrant mixed-use quarter offering high-quality homes, commercial and retail spaces and new public realm.

Together the project has delivered 975 homes which are split evenly between between PRS, market sale and affordable housing – including 30% family housing – with the lower floors activated by 9,000 sqm of mixed uses including cafés, a 152-bed hotel, food store and employment space for the emerging creative sectors.

Homes have been designed with long-term use and flexibility in mind; the layout maximises future efficiency, with high daylight levels and solar shading. JTP’s designs avoid single-aspect, north-facing homes and the even tenure split at Brunel Street Works is designed to attract diversity of residents.

Distinct building typologies reflect the local industrial heritage, with each of the buildings taking inspiration from the site’s history and proximity to the Thames Iron Works and Ship Building Company. The design establishes architecture of longevity, using robust materials which will age with minimal maintenance, with carefully selected brickwork and detailing to create variations in colour and texture along the street.

Brunel Street Works establishes the built frontage of Silvertown Way as a street with stepped buildings of varying scales. Four distinct context-driven character areas create continued interest and variety along Silvertown Way and defines three new public spaces for residents and the local community, connected by enhanced public realm. The bespoke mixed-use strategy was developed through a series of community planning events and cultivates a prosperous future for Silvertown Way.

The project embraced an extensive community and stakeholder engagement process. JTP worked closely and collaboratively with Newham Council’s Design Review Panel, and had regular reviews with the GLA throughout the process. Delivered as a joint venture by OPAL formed between Countryside Partnerships and Metropolitan Thames Valley, JTP undertook the role of masterplanners and led the collaborative design process alongside fellow lead architectural consultants GRID and Cartwright Pickard and delivery architects Hunters.