3rd year: Integrated design Final Project

The South Grove site has an incredible amount of potential to not only support its current local businesses, but also welcome and encourage new ones. It also has the capacity and capability to become a more sociable and relaxing place in which to live with its promotion of green and eco friendly ventures. Throughout the recent local mini Holland project, Walthamstow has expressed its desire to become an example to the rest of outer London as an eco borough. The South Grove site is currently only being used as a car park despite being situated by a railway line, within walking distance of the train and bus stations and next to several bus stops; it has flora around its edges and is surrounded by residential flats, houses and a small business park. The site has planned approval to build a 17-storey building incorporating a Morrison’s superstore with apartments above. It will be an artificial, metal, intimidating block completely out of character with its surroundings and transform a key town centre site into one which sole purpose is to increase Morrison’s assets, rather than provide and encourage additional exclusive retail and housing units in an inviting, sociable and relaxing development. Building such a large store will dominate the area and undoubtedly harm independent local traders who may struggle to survive the competition and ultimately be forced to leave, thus reducing variety and choice for the local community. The locals are outraged by the building plans for this development but I believe I can design something which will not only respond to the needs and wants of the community but also give back what the community has lost over time in a more natural, healthy and ecologically moral manner.

An element of community life that has been nearly lost, not only in London but across the nation in roughly the last 50 years, is the community aspect of shopping, working and living in the same neighbourhood. When this lifestyle was prevalent, people’s dependency on polluting modes of transport such as cars and motorcycles were significantly lower because they remained within their locality to shop, socialise with their neighbours and let their children play in the green public areas with their friends. Some could say the Technological advancements across the nation that have been made are partly to blame for this. It could be argued this change in our lifestyle is due to improved transport links and advances in technology however, I believe these reasons are irrelevant and should not prevent a sympathetic redevelopment of the South Grove site having a positive effect on community cohesion in the Walthamstow area. Walthamstow is currently heavily populated with couples, most of which are career orientated and work near or in central London. The area has a large variety of flats which ably suit this group of people however, after walking around the area, the extreme lack of family houses is blatantly obvious; this results in an imbalanced and disparate population. I would suggest that my South Grove design concept would address and respond to this deficiency, as it will incorporate a development, which includes affordable family dwellings as well as business units.

Example units of the varying sizes to cater for varying party sizes. These apartments are integrated on each floor to avoid segrigation between different age groups and walks of life. This is to encourage the community aspect the project is aiming to achieve.