dRMM Architects has won the Royal Docks
competition to design England’s first floating village. London Mayor
Boris Johnson revealed a consortium including Carillion Igloo Genesis and Buro
Happold who will together transform 15 acres of water just east of the Emirates
Airline.
Floating villages are a new idea for the
UK, but already popular in Europe, especially in Holland where designers have
long considered sea levels in relation to housing and city planning. The Royal
Docks scheme borrows expertise developed at the floating prefab village of
Ijburg near Amsterdam. In Scotland two schemes are already planned, including a
solar powered floating community for Edinburgh and a £30 million development
directly adjacent to the Glasgow Science Centre.
Future inhabitants will be able to play a
part in the design of their property. Chris Brown, director of Carillion Igloo
Genesis said: “Living in a floating home you’ve helped to
design is a dream lots of us have. By combining the floating home experience of
our Dutch collaborators with our custom built business we hope to make these
dreams come true in Royal Victoria Dock… East London’s place on the
tourist trail is growing fast. It’s about to be
joined by Europe’s largest floating village, with floating markets,
creative workspace, events and watersports.”
Alex de Rijke of dRMM recently presented
his studies on floating villages to the Venice architecture biennale. The
prefabricated floating water-homes will use the same type of concrete
foundations that are already in use at the Ijburg development in Holland. The
construction of the homes – including the bases – will be carried
out off-site and then transported by water to site.
The scheme is due to enter the formal
planning process with Newham council in Spring 2015, and it is expected to
address the need for affordable housing to avoid opposition from local
authorities and residents.
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