- Words and images by Yavor Ivanov
Goal & objective
The Live/Work City is a new model of co-locating homes, workplaces and industries, which gives immediacy and visibility to the multitude of processes happening in the city. It allows them to share spaces and resources, kindle interaction between uses and users, and create vibrant and cohesive cities.
Strategy
The proposal, sited in Hackney Wick, seeks to retain existing industrial, creative workplace and leisure programmes and further intensify the site. Through creating a clear hierarchy of public places in terms of scale and character, the masterplan seeks to sustain and enhance this diversity of uses. Industrial ‘megablocks’ within it feature workhome accommodation clustered around a civic factory typology, comprising shared workspaces, facilities and amenities, which facilitate the exchange between residents and workers as well as crafts and industries. Shell-and-core (work)home typologies, completed and customised according to users’ needs, provide flexibility between live- and work-centric lifestyles and bring a varying degree of public interaction to residential units.
Impact
Through the co-location of uses, the proposal creates a continuously inhabited, vibrant and safe piece of city, which provides walkable ‘commutes’ to improve the wellbeing of its inhabitants. The visibility and interconnectedness between different processes enables education through life-long exposure to different professions. Likewise, the collective industry provides employment and training to low-income workers and helps retain vital jobs within the city. New environmental synergies stem from the integration of factories in the city, promoting consciousness and a circular economy of energy and materials.
Site location
Hackney Wick, London Borough of Hackney, E9 5LW
Project size
60,676 sqft / 5,637 sqm (focus area plot only)
