Design and Access Statement

Hackney Wick Literature Centre

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London Borough of Tower Hamlets Map

Site Location

CONTENTS

1.0 Summary....................................................

2.0 The Site.....................................................

3.0 Use............................................................

4.0 Amount......................................................

5.0 Layout........................................................

6.0 Scale..........................................................

7.0 Landscaping..............................................

8.0 Appearance...............................................

9.0 Access.....................................................

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Design and Access Statement

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1.0 Summary

This report has been prepared by Max Letvenenko (Architecture FT3,LSBU student) as a planning document for a new 3000 square meter Literary Centre. The Centre is proposed to be built in 2030 in Hackney Wick, Tower Hamlets Borough, 94 White post Lane, London E9 5EN.

The site is located in Fish Island North, east London, adjacent to Hackney Wick railway station and the A12, to the west of the 2012 Olympic Park. The west side of the site lies next to 92 White Post Lane Studios (Artist’s studios), Queen’s Yard is to the north, Lea Navigation Canal is situated to the east, and the south of the Centre overlooks Hertford Union canal.

The proposal provides improved cohesion of cultural and educational activity within the area and improved pedestrian permeability. This complements the planned improvements to waterways and pedestrian access in the local area and directly contributes to the post-Olympic Development Framework Plan.

Current planning policy for the area, stipulated in the LBTH Core Strategy, describes an encouraging vision for the future of Hackney Wick as a new neighbourhood with a rich mix of uses including commercial, retail, leisure, work – spaces and residential areas. The proposed development responds to this program by providing a new Literary Centre providing increased local employment opportunities and a prominent, locally appropriate educational landmark, rooted in the spirit of the 21st century.


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2.0 The Site

Relationship to the Olympic Park

Greater London context

Site Location

Existing view


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3.0 Use

The proposed development will accommodate three main functions: public library (100 000 books), lecture hall (100 people capacity) and four accommodation units for writers in residence. In addition to this, the centre will offer its visitors a river front café, providing space for recreation and informal meetings.

The site is presently used as a general industrial estate and it is categorised as a B1 use class. This application seeks to change the current land use from B1(General industrial) to a combination of use classes: D1(public library), C1 (boarding house) and A3(restaurants and cafes). The demolition of the existing group of buildings (Hamlet industrial Estate) is envisioned to take place in 2028. The Literary Centre construction would take two years to accomplish, completing in 2030.

The use of the site corresponds to the Tower Hamlet’s development policy, outlined in Community Plan, 2020 Vision document. In Particular it responses to the following issues:

Concerns about the level of crime and the fear of crime in the area. The proposed developments will provide a new public space in the area, enhancing permeability and connectivity of the site to its users and therefore promoting public vigilance and a sense of security to its visitors.

The need for more opportunities for residents to get into training, access lifelong learning opportunities and acquire the skills for employment to exploit job opportunities.The chief objectives of this proposal are aimed at promotion, enrichment and stimulation of cultural engagement of local community and visitors of Hackney Wick. This aim will be achieved through a series of structured workshops, lectures, screenings and provision of a publicly accessible library. In addition, the centre would offer a limited number of workplaces to local residents.

The importance of retaining the richness of Tower Hamlets’ diversity.A heterogeneous mix of uses of the Literary Centre will reinforce the council’s intentions, making the place more useful for a variety of purposes.

The need to have and encourage, respect among communities.The Literary Centre has a great potential of creating a prominent new landmark for Hackney Wick, raising the reputation of the area and uniting the different sectors of the local population through providing a shared platform for lifelong learning opportunities.

As the proposed lecture theatre is not going to be used by the Centre on a daily basis, it would also be rented out as a function venue for the various events related to literature.

Literary Centre operating hours: 10:00 AM – 21:00 PMCafé opening times: 10:00 AM – 21:00 PMEvent Times: 2:00 PM – 22:00 PM

Present

2028

2030


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1

1. Mother Studios

2. 92 White Post Lane Studios

2


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4.0 Amount

The density of new buildings the proposed site is conceived to be greater that that of the former development on site (Hamlet Industrial Estate). The Literary Centre will deliver approximately 3000 sq m of total floor space. This provides for the accommodation needed to contain around 100 000 books, reading spaces for up to 200 library visitors, designated study desks for 30 writers/researches, 100 people capacity auditorium, public cafe and four accommodation units for writers in residence.

The proposed development will take advantage of the fantastic views available from the site through opening its boundaries to the riverfront towpath. This will make a favourable impact on the appearance and character of the area by shaping a new public space at the junction with the Olympic park.

Tower Hamlets Community Plan 2020 outlines, among other priorities, a need for planning a neighbourhood with a collective sense of well-being and avoiding people being isolated. The density of the buildings in the proposed scheme reflects the requirements needed for introducing a building of local importance ensuring that communities have good access to a wide range of educational and recreational facilities.

Library Tower will contain around 50 000 books and provide reading spaces for 100 visitors

The main building will include 100 people capacity lecture theatre, reference desk and designated research units


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Proposed amount


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5.0 Layout

The spatial arrangement of the proposal was mainly determined by the existing properties of the site. The main building, accommodating a public auditorium, information desk and designated reading spaces have a direct relationship with White Post Lane, a major, and integral road in Hackney Wick. The principle entrance to the Centre is situated by the bridge connecting Fish Island with the Olympic Park, while delivery/staff entry is located at the western corner, next to the parking area. The public reading rooms of the Centre are situated in the eastern part of the complex, overlooking natural features of the Lea River and offering spectacular views of the Olympic Park. Writer’s residences occupy the top floor of the southern section of the Centre, protecting the writers from the noise of a vehicular road and exposing their dwellings to a consistent amount of sunlight throughout the day. The library tower is protectively embraced by the Centre and has a series of internal entrances available to the visitors, encouraging public to interact with the rest of the complex before they reach the library tower. This looped layout arrangement allows the visitor to circulate throughout the Centre and introduces a shielded internal courtyard capable of providing a peaceful and quiet environment for reading, writing and socialising.

The Centre will be accessible to public through a number of entrances at each side allowing visitors to permeate through the site during operational hours. The overall footprint of the Centre steps away from the row of four blocks (92 White Post Lane Studios), forming an eight meter wide axis between the buildings. This move was conceived with the objective of increasing the openness at the site boundary and consequently contributing to the sense of safety, experienced by visitors and local residents. Additionally, the layout of the Centre creates an open public realm on the eastern side, between the new development and the canal.

The Main Building

- Public auditorium- Designated reading spaces- Information desk

Public reading rooms

- 30 000 books- Public reading spaces

Library Tower

- 50 000 books- 100 Public reading spaces

Main EntranceRiverfront Entrance

Delivery/staff EntranceBack EntranceWriters Entrance

Riverfront Entrance

Writers residence

- 4 individual living units- Communal living space


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Hackney WickOverground Station

Vehicular bridge to the Olympic Park

Foot Bridge crossing

92 White post Lane Studios(Artists/artisan studio units)

N

0 50m

Proposed waterfront area

Proposed car park area

Mother Studios(Artists/artisan studio units)

White Post Lane


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6.0 Scale

The scale and form of the development captures the character of the area in its dimensions and responds to the existing fabric through a palette of external materials. The Proposed scheme is composed of four interconnected buildings of six, four and two storeys high.

The tallest structure is the library tower, a six storey building with total height of 20 meters. Its height does not exceed that of the studio building next to it and its position within the centre does not obstruct any significant views of neighbouring buildings. The rationale for introducing a tall structure to the development was partly determined by the need to contain the books in one location, but also to create a prominent marker, visible from Hackney Wick Station and the western boundary of the Olympic park.

The main building of the Centre, housing the public auditorium is a three storey, 13 meter high structure with a saw tooth profiled roof that resonates with the industrial history of the area. The height of its roof is comparable to the height of neighbouring buildings along White Post Lane, forming an unbroken street elevation. Both frontal facades of this building face White Post Lane and the River Lea, and feature a continuous glazed openings of 2.5 meters in height, inviting passersby to engage with the centre.

The long, curved section of the centre that faces the riverfront is a two storey building, rising to three storeys at its southern end to accommodate the writer’s residence. The ground floor of this building continues with the glazed opening along its façade, introduced at the main building.

Sight lines available from the site


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View from Hackney Wick station View from Hackney Olympic Park

Bird’s eye view looking East Bird’s eye view looking North-West


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7.0 Landscaping

The Proposed development will create two distinguishable landscape areas: 1)A highly paved internal courtyard formed between the library tower and the main building facing White Post Lane. 2)The interface at the western boundary of the site between the centre and the canal towpath.

The landscaping strategy for the internal courtyard includes paving material with water permeable, slip resistant properties. The paving sets are intended to be light in colour to compliment the internal floor cover colour of the centre. The Planting strategy for the internal courtyard includes a centrally placed timber bench with integrated planter, capable of containing one small ornamental tree (3 – 7 m tall). The café of the centre will provide a set of external tables and chairs to offer an opportunity to rest, dine and read to the visitors. Adequate lighting levels will be provided it the courtyard through the provision of polyurethane lamp columns.

The edge of the proposed development is set back around 8 meters from Hertford Union Canal to the south, and approximately 15 meters away from the river Lea to the east. The area directly between the proposed development and the waterfront presently consists of a gravel towpath, green belt of low-grade vegetation and a 3m high brick wall around the perimeter of the existing site (Hamlets Industrial Estate). The proposed landscape strategy for that area includes removal of the brick wall, expansion of the green buffer area along the canal and introduction of concrete seating at intervals that will function as a security bollards along the waterfront. There will be no changes made to the existing canal towpath beyond the site boundary.

All paving surfaces on the site will be on the same level to address the needs of disabled and elderly people.

Lavender Twist TreeMature Height 8 - 10 feetMature Spread 8 - 10 feetMature Form: Weeping

Outdoor Cafe furniture


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Courtyard paving: Blister Tactile

Brick wall removal

Enviro shelter x 10 Sheffield cycle stands

Concrete seating: Quadro Bench


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8.0 Appearance

At the project’s inception it was conceived that the Centre’s appearance should remain courteous to the character and historical background of the area. The external fabric of the Centre will add a contextually sensitive and progressive architectural building, establishing a coherent dialogue with the existing building fabric of White Post Lane. The proposed development will be of similar scale to the existing buildings in the area with the exception of the library tower, which will differ in its size and external appearance from the rest of the development. This will introduce a progressive and modern ethos to the appearance of the building.

The existing fabric of the area is predominantly composed of London Stock brick with some red brick and concrete details. As a response to these conditions it was envisaged that the frontal elevations of the Centre would be clad with vertically positioned cumaru hardwood rainscreen . The colour variation of treated cumaru hardwood is reminiscent with the variety of tonal colours present in London Stock brick. Additionally, the natural effect of weathering, occurring as a result of the exposure of the timber will further contribute to the seamless blend of the proposal with its surroundings.

The ground floor windows are to be steel framed openings of considerably larger proportions than that of the surrounding buildings. The rational behind the decision to introduce larger ground floor openings is motivated by the intention to promote the openness and transparency of the centre at the street level and therefore attract more visitors.

The library tower, located within the courtyard of the proposal will feature continuous white translucent cladding with long vertical windows positioned behind the façade. Throughout the daytime the windows of the tower will not be noticeable externally but during the night the glowing vertical strips of the windows will create a considerable lighting levels to establish a strong visual marker for the area and help residents to orient themselves within Hackney Wick.

Existing fabric of Hackney Wick

Vertical timber facade


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Influences:

The VillaFAT Architecture

Vertical timber facade

St Mary Magdalene AcademyFeilden Clegg Bradley architects

Light-filled facadeGlasgow art schoolSteven Holl Architect


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9. Access

The site is adjacent to the Lea navigation canal and sits on the primary route into the Olympic Park. It is directly accessible from a public right of way.

The development is well served by public roads and the public transport network. Hackney Wick Overground railway station is within 3 minutes walk. The 236 bus route serves the area and its bus stops are within a few minutes walk on Hepscott Road. The site is well connected by major cycling and pedestrian routes running along the River Lea. Furthermore, the Olympic Legacy Plan outlines the intention to launch a new bus route connecting Fish Island with the Olympic Park in the near future. The bus stops for the new route are likely to be in direct proximity of the centre.

At present, there is good vehicle access to the site from White Post Lane with public parking facilities on both sides of the road. The proposed development will introduce a 6 car parking spaces designated for delivery and waste collection. Two of these parking spaces will be reserved for blue badge holders only.

Pedestrian access to the new development will be facilitated through a series of entrances from each side of the centre. The main entrance is located at the corner of White Post Lane and the River Lea. It will be made clearly visible by a paved ground surface and 1.8 meter wide revolving door as well as a side door for wheelchair users. Vertical circulation is provided by two lift cores and four internal staircases within the centre. The floor plates are designed to stack logically with a simple structural grid. The internal flow of corridors will connect the lift cores and staircases introducing an obvious circulation route through the centre that eliminates any blind spots or dead ends.

By removing the existing boundary wall between the canal and the site, pedestrian permeability through the site would be greatly improved as well as creating an active interface between the building and the canal.

Richmond - Stratford Overground map


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Hackney WickOverground Station

236 Bus Stops

Walking/Cycl

ing route

Walking/Cycling route

Walking/Cycling route

Delivery/Refuse3 m

in walk

3 min walk

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0 50m

Proposed car park area

x 2 White Post Lane

To Olympic Park

Hepscott road

Proposed waterfront area

Documents

Design and Access Statement