Defining a robust vision for change in Woolwich was an important aspect of our work on the strategy. Although we set out rules of quality, ambition, and density, we also sought to allow openness and tolerance within the rules to enable interpretation and variation in design through the involvement of a wide range of architects. As part of this we wrote a story about how Woolwich may seem in the future:
You recognise Woolwich immediately from the stories you’ve heard. The long view from the river presents a display of confidently scaled and unusual looking buildings. Between them can be seen groups of people moving around, sitting, talking, eating, children playing, cycling, jogging, and drinking coffee. As the boat moors at the pier you are surprised to see fish being cooked and served from the old Woolwich Ferry pier. The pier itself has become a park with a café at the end beneath new flats in the re-used jetty building.
Climbing out you notice that the public space runs not just along the riverside, but also back through the buildings in clear swathes. There is a surprising absence of cars, and the theatre foyer, leisure building, and shops and cafes are spread out in ways that make the whole area used. It isn’t quite a park, nor a street, nor a square; although the things that happen in those places are all happening here. It feels more like a beach; a singular landscape with buildings in it.
A handsome brick wall surrounds the Woolwich Arsenal to your left. The well defined openings frame enticing views of active public spaces. You wander in before meeting your friend at General Gordon Square.
In the Arsenal the ground floor is buzzing; with people living above. The market marks the entrance to the new Crossrail station. This has been used to redefine the southern edge of the Arsenal. After perusing an old furniture stall in building 10 you walk out of the Arsenal and across the Plumstead road without noticing that you’ve done so. The ground is expansive and generous; and you feel like you are at the edge of a much larger space, like a huge picnic cloth. Now the space begins to rise up the hill, and vegetables are for sale instead of antiques.
People dress differently in Woolwich. There is choice here for clothes, shops, and activity.
The market runs past the station, and people are swarming in and out of the DLR station, along Powis Street, and across General Gordon Square which runs right up to the buildings at its edges. The tall buildings at the station and at Powis Street give a sense of industry and activity. It feels as if Woolwich is generating itself.
Your friend shows you where they live; up on the old Peggy Middleton site in one of the new tall buildings. You noticed it from the river edge. His flat is in a building that accommodates garden apartments, two and three bed flats, and studio units. Stacked vertically, with communal workshops and gardens, office space, and a café at the bottom, the building was designed to respond to the existing buildings around and the slope it was on. Although tall it looks like a piece of landscape, with reflections, gardens, and texture consistent with the ground.
In the evening you decide to take the tram home. It pulls in as you arrive at the old gatehouse. Moving off to the West you are aware of being at the centre of the Town; surrounded by shops, houses, and peopled spaces. The road has become a way of experiencing the place as well as accessing it.