RSHP’s design proposal for the Bromley-By-Bow Gasworks regeneration project has just been approved by the London Borough of Newham’s Strategic Development Committee. The 23-acre site dates back to the 1870s, housing the largest collection of Victorian gasholders worldwide, making the project one of the largest regeneration proposals in the Lower Lea Valley in London. After three years of design development, the scheme reimagines the gas holders into a mixed-use development offering new high-quality residential architecture.
Situated in a historically fragmented part of London, largely inaccessible for the past 150 years, the site is adjacent to distribution warehouses and light-industrial retail parks. With particular site constraints, the project preserves and refurbishes these gas holders as “heritage assets,” making them a core principle of the proposal. The new scheme features two typologies: “gas holder” and “pencil” buildings. While gas holder buildings are within the refurbished gas holder frames, the taller pencil buildings occupy the site’s periphery, marking circulation routes. Both typologies aim to transform the circular architectural form into a multi-faceted polygonal perimeter. Boasting varying colors across vertical heights, the form and materials of the buildings within the gas holders are inspired by the initial frames, preserving their silhouette.
The heritage-led transformation aims to create a mixed-use development offering new residential homes adaptable to housing needs. Additionally, flexible spaces are planned for commercial and community use, including accessible public open spaces and a new riverside park. The footprint of a gas holder destroyed in WWII will be retained as a central water feature, and the relocated substructure of Gasholder No. 4 is designed to become a community hub that hosts activities and programs activating the public realm. All these features seek to reconnect the site with the surrounding neighborhood and transport infrastructure via pedestrian and cycling paths, creating a new place to live, work, and spend time.
The project intends to surpass current Building Regulations criteria in fabric energy efficiency by 31% and regulated carbon emissions by 70%. It uses low-energy lighting with ASHP technology for heating and cooling, triple-glazed windows, energy-efficient building fabric, and other passive design features. By utilizing a standardized structural grid that can adjust to various applications and refurbishing and reusing the gasholders, the project also aims to achieve a BREEAM UK grade of Excellent while adhering to the ideals of the circular economy. The goal for building waste is to divert 95% of it from landfills and use 20% of it for recycled and repurposed products.
The experience of being close to these majestic structures, inaccessible for so long and which sit center-stage within this unique mixed-use development, will now be available to all – and the proposal will create a lasting and meaningful legacy for Londoners that extends far beyond the site. — Andy Bryce, Associate Partner, RSHP
Architects worldwide have been pioneering industrial heritage revitalization, breathing new life into historical structures and reimagining them into contemporary spaces for today’s needs. In the Czech Republic, architecture firm KOGAA has transformed a former storage facility in Brno into “DADA Distrikt,” an affordable and diverse housing development. Similarly, Gustav Düsing and FAKT have just won the competition to transform a former printing facility in Siegen, Germany, into a central campus. In other similar news, the iconic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has been remodeled and refurbished by L35 Architects and is near completion.
