Hackney Wick and Fish Island, one of the 'Olympic Fringe' masterplan areas, plays a key role in successfully connecting the communities of Tower Hamlets and Hackney with the legacy development within the Olympic zone.  Fundamental to the vision for Hackney Wick is to create a new local town centre around the existing station, and to promote creative and cultural activities which are already thriving in the area and must play a central part in the future evolution of the area.

 

The masterplan will become a tool for the public sector to plan improvements for existing residents and businesses and to attract new investment to the area.  It will also provide clear guidelines for future development proposals, to ensure that the area's unique character is enhanced and the new local centre at Hackney Wick is successfully developed.  EDAW with Maxwan were appointed in December 2007 as lead consultants on the masterplan, and consultation on the Hackney element of the masterplan is anticipated in autumn 2009.

 

Design for London have an ongoing role as part of the client team for the masterplanning work for this area, taking a lead role on design issues and facilitating the interface with the Olympic Legacy masterplan.

 

Design for London also comissioned Muf architecture/art to research and document the rich and diverse activities in Hackney Wick and Fish Island to complement the overall masterplanning work.  Their careful study was completed in July 2009 and is the result of spending time in the area, meeting and interviewing people whose businesses are based there, and mapping their findings.  It provides a fascinating snapshot of the huge scale of culture and art activities now established in the area - for example 610 artists studios were counted, possibly the largest cluster of artists in Europe today.

 

Partners: LDA, London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney, London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, Transport for London, English Heritage, Arts Council, local business associations and community groups

Download:
Creative_industries_mapping_July_2009.pdf
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