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a lecture by Gert urhahn
The river, The shoreline, The land:
a design expediTionlondon a porT CiTy
puTTing The Thames inTo Thames gaTeway
ConferenCe oCTober 31, 2006
:
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IntroductIon
I am very honored to share with you some of my thoughts
about the future of the area known as the Thames Gateway.
I am an urban designer from the Netherlands and director
of the Amsterdam based office Urhahn Urban Design and
I m ee tgete wit tw membe f m team, Jt Be -
dema e Bb Gib.
My lecture has four parts. After a short introduction I would
like to take you with me on our expedition in the full sense
f te wd, ve fit ackwledgemet wit te aea,
te eac f ible elevat teme, wig
some precedents from different places in Europe that have
responded successfully to the some of the issues that play
ee i te Tame Gatewa aea, ad fiiig wit me
emak abt blic vale, a ccet wic i m ii
allows us to think intelligently and holistically about thisarea.
Befe I tat, jt a few wd abt a ke teme f ti
conference: the presence of the port. For a good under-
standing of the present day situation we realize that the
industrial revolution and innovations of techniques have
caed a ge cale jm f bt te t a well a cit,
creating a more independent relationship than in the past.
Harbor and City started to shift in independent directions.
Ports are quite special places in the fabric of the city. Port
mea: Ecm, cmmece, iig, ditibti, wae-
e, ifatcte. Te ave tei w tg lgitic
and special rules.
We could make a difference between hard port areas and
soft port areas. Speaking about the relationship between
cit ad t e cld a, tat i te ad t aea te
t i leadig, ad te cit i tee a get, a viit.
Like i Tilb. I te ft t aea, te Cit i leadig
ad te ab ffe till te ecial atmee, like i
Catherine docks.
The soft port areas are now a cherished part of the urban
ladcae. Me geeall, wate a ive, dck, etc
add vale, meaig, excitemet.
Bt t wat extet ca te ad t aea be cmbied wit
the urban expansion?
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When approaching this large area we went in for an expedi-
ti, i te fll ee f te wd. We tied t lk at te
area with an open mind to see what is currently there.
If we think about the Thames Gateway and the
t, fit f all we eed t ecgie tat
contrary to other cities London does not have
a t Cta t rttedam, hambg
ad te citie te t i fzz, ate a ze
spread out over vast area. We are convinced that
the discussion on the Thames Gateway should be
abt me ta jt t, ew ig ad ifatcte.
Crucially it needs to deal with the complexities of what is
alead tee. Tee i a exitig ladcae, a eclgi-
cal ladcae, a iabited ladcae iteivel edalead, f livig, ad ideed f te t.
Now I would like to show you some of the slides of this
iabited ladcae, ve fit bevati ad te
shoreline.
nATurE: Fit f all tee i te ive ad te eta,
with the gradual transition from water to land: tidal beach-
e ad adbak, a age f mace, afte wic,
bt ide, a eie f idge wit metime fail tee
le, ad ill f limete. Te eclgi-
cal vale i cideable, ad it a
beauty. Human interventions have
sometimes contributed to this with
eclgical ak, atificial ill f
lad filled bbi all tee will be
part of the natural landscape.
hIsTory: we were surprised by the old villages on the ridge
ad eitage, c a ft. A mall cale ladcae, mc
worth preserving. There are snippets of history to be found
evewee: ld feie, te ab cae f ce,
ad tee ate tikig bage, at f te Wld
War 2 D-day and then serving again against floods
in later decades. Some of these elements have
bee itegated it ba exai, te bit
ae jt tee.
InDusTry: intersecting this is
a more large-scale landscape of
ma iteveti: te t,
idt c a il efieie,
dck, we tati, wate dmad ecclig eati, ditib-
ti cete, ad te ifatcte: f ca,
tai, weweeve ae witi ti aea it i alwa
tee, cle te iz. It i at f te ladcae,
it idetit, wete like it t.
ACCEss AnD VIsIBILITy: this is a key issue.
Traditionally the area has a clear basic
structure consisting of routes running
aallel t te ive: ld ad, te
ew A13, te C2C tai. Cle t
the water line a series of perpendicu-
lar access points to the river. This in
itself creates evident linkage issues along
te ive. I te cae, eticted acce i t mc
delibeate a b defalt: wat elt i a le ta ified,
patchy access pattern of often low quality. No fun of urban
beace ee, tg a bidge ad me feie vide a
more dramatic interaction with the river.
eXpedItIon: the InhabIted landscape
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ThE shorELInE: the romantic word used deliberately
t it t tetial te ealit i t a beatifl a ti
strong unifying mental image would suggest What is really
ified i te wall, te levee. Te ie f fld ik i c -
tatl mid, ad te bilt exei f ti axiet
i a ccete wall wic viall ifie Bakig wit Ca-
ve Ilad. o te lad ide: bgalw, aatmet blck,
ak, sda maket, wave, ctaie, bt ael
a diect elati t te ive via view, fctial lik.
o te wate ide: fte beat, ate. smetime at
wate. Deeted qa. Ad active idt, metime
with monumental value. And leisure. The two seem to coex-
it eglectfl f eac te eece: a
sda maket i Bakig it ilad
of the wall and looks inward. The
ailig act dt ave a glam-
maia, bt itead a eie f
jett ie ad ctaie. A iteetigcombination with surprising contrasts.
ThE porT AnD shIppInG: A I metied, tee i t
a c. Tee ae t, jettie, ab, bit. We
blic exei, te ta tei mmetal eece
te iz, i blematic: te Tilb Dck, f exam-
le, ae ded b a ccete wall. sld we cide
this concrete wall as the cultural expression of industry in
the present age? It is a reminder that contemporary indus-
t ld t be lked at i tem f beat- beat ca
cc, bt b cicidece
In sum this is not one landscape. It
is a series of places with distinct
atmee, ified b ive bt a
te ive bed ad t, edle
vaiati. It i t te gatewa i
that sense.
BuILT IDEnTITy: Then I would like to say a few words about
buildings and the development of the built landscape on
eite ide f te ive: smetime, tee i a elatii,
at leat viall, a i te Geewic Milleim Village.
Bt mc me fte ee te
ite: lacele awl, cld-be-
awee, ve few it f ive
eece, eve tw blck awa
from it such as these houses.
So the over all impression
i a ladcae f bit, ad f ivate
iitiative me f it blad, bt me-
times offering fascinating contrasts in which beauty can be
found. It seems to be a landscape that was generated not
with any particular ambition apart from strict utilitarian
needs. Are we satisfied with that or should we aim higher?
I would say that this chaotic landscape does not make themt f it tetial if te t i a ecmic fact
how can we marry that to urban development? Since it will
be alwa i view, w d we fit fm tat? Ca it el
geeate lace ad idetit? hee we ave te deig
challenge.
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InspIratIon
Looking for some inspiration I would like to show you a
couple of precedents from various European cities:
hAMBurG
Let tat wit hambg, Gema mt imtat pt
Cit. hambg a a ccetated t aea f 7400a, it-
ated ite t te Cit, 41 km qa wall f cea gig
ships and 350 km rail tracks as part of the land infrastruc-
te. I ite f te ge face, te lg ditace t te
nte sea, difficlt avigati, te cit f hambg c-
ceeded quite well to keep a close relationship between City
ad t, t l i ical ee, bt al i te metal
map of people.
- For me this room with a view symbolizes the strong af-
finity of the citizens with their harbour.
- Tee i ti well kw st pali Ladgbecke, a500 m lg flatig meade te wate, wit cafe
ad etaat, a wate tati wit blic tat
wate t vai detiati, eve t te matic
villages kilometres outside the city.
- remakable i hafecit, te tafmati f a ge
working area into a high density central area with hous-
ig, ffice, leie, meade, ad a view twe.
- Te ig a a clea ietati t te ive, bt i
the City and outside
- Tee ae beace,
- Water busses outside the city
- ad mc-lved caf ad bee gade alg te ive,
for everyone..
AnTWErp
The fascinating thing in Antwerp is that the city put a lot of
effort in the redevelopment of the old docks by emphasis-
ig te fte e f te wate. Mt f te dck, me
of the quays as well as some of the bridges are listed. The
City asked our office to organise the new program of the
wate, f ive cie, te ie bage, te maia, te
itical qate, waitig aea f mde cmmecial
shipping etc. The idea was that water and water activities
ca el t bilt te iqe atmee, f te fte
housing and mixed use area.
- We carefully investigated the physical conditions: What
is the accessibility? How big are the basins? How deepis the water? In order to reorganise the conditions for
the shipping program.
- At the very end of the area quite close to the new har-
bour area there is my favourite place. A caf restaurant
in a listed pump house with outdoor terraces. A soft
port activity in a hard port neighbourhood. Exiting.
- nt fa awa tee i ate attacti, te d dck
aea, atl till i e b te t atit, wit me-
time a i i eaati, a iece f at. Ti i wate
elated activit, idt ad blic aea. I e it will
not change in future.
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roTTErDAM
nw we mve t rttedam. hee a ecial gaiati
is formed for managing the transformation of the area in
between the hard port activities and the soft port activi-
tie, called stadave, wic mea Cithab. Cit ad
Port authority together are searching for a suitable future
of that area. Meanwhile the organisation started to work in
one of the old buildings of what has been the biggest wharf
f netelad, te rDM waf. Fm ee, a lt f activitie
are started.
- One of them is the organisation of a new smart program
for the wharf area which respects the fringe condi-
ti f te t. It ld be a labat, wkace ad
taacti, tgete wit iveit ad te cl.
Tema ccati i ecaged, a diveit f
activities takes place. The area is much sought after for
conferences and presentations in the creative sector.
- Already very successful is the water busses and highspeed water taxis. The quickest way to move along the
rttedam wateft.
AMsTErDAM
What I would like to show here is the concept of the All
weather terminal. Our office has been asked by the Har-
bour Authority to look for a spatial concentration of various
activities linked to the timber harbours as modern distribu-
tion centre.
- Te idea wa t ccetate ffice, cmaie ad
harbour activities in one building complex including the
all weather terminal where goods can be loaded and
laded, ideedet fm weate cditi. Tat
offers of course enormous economical advantages
and minimize the environmental spillovers of activities
ie, dt, mell i a wa tat ffice ad e
could be built nearby.
- Another idea is the promotion of flexible and generic
building types that can be adapted by future uses and
tat ca adjt t cagig cicmtace. Te adva-
tage of such buildings is already felt by those who use aGeorgian house as an office. The search for this kind of
building typologies enables us to think creatively about
how modern industry and urban development can be
close to each other. This is an exciting and challenging
field of work which will profit from further study and
testing in reality.
OSLO
Te lat ecedet i abt ol, wic a develed ig
ambitions to reorganise the relationship between city and
harbour in a radical way
- wit a efect acceibilit fm te cit t te wate,
a elt f a 2 km tellig te ca taffic, wit ice
places and well designed public realm and meeting
points for everyone
- The reshuffling helps to keep and enforce the strong
ctat betwee cit, ab ad ate, a iqe
selling point for the long term future.
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publIc value
What can we learn from such examples? Well first of all
there are precedents that can inspire us to think and also
dream about the future of the area. They are never one-to-
one applicable but they should make us think what will be
ible, elevat ad excitig.
Bt metig ele emege t f tee lide, ad tat
is a concept I would like to highlight briefly before finishing.
This is the concept of public value.
pblic vale i a lic tl, it i igiall ed t cce-
talie Gvemet added vale. It a emeged, ecetl,
in US / UK to think differently about how Government
ceate, add, eeve det vale() i wat te
d. It i abt iteveti, c a laig ad devel-
met, i tem tat g bed fiacial vale leat cti bette. It i me litic ad ecgie te fact tat
me vale ae itagible, t well meaable, bt mat-
ters anyway. For example the wider public domain: public
acce, te qalit f bildig. recetl te uK Clte
seceta, Tea Jwell ed it t teie te Gve-
met le ad dt t imve te blic ealm, tacklig
te vet f aiati .
Give bt te eet cditi, te aet, te te-
tial ad te wate, develig te Tame Gatewa cld
usefully be formulated as developing value. That private
vale will be ceated ca be exected; e will be bilt,
ad ig cete, lad ice will ie, ele will be
ed. hweve i te ce, te vale migt be i
dage. Te fecig ad me ew aatmet ject
i t elfl t ceate bette blic ace, f exam-
ple. Trust is a key element of public value and we need to
tik abt tat qite caefll. s, wat kid f devel-
met, ad develmet ce, d we aie t, ad f
what kind of values? What values do we want the Thames
Gatewa t be aciated wit i te mid te blic, te
consumers and the investors?
Public investment will enhance private value. That will fulfil
blic bjective bt i tat all? sme ew ig i t
a gai, eve tg it i efl. It ca actall be a lt -
tetial ad a fte blem if t de well. Ti i t jt
about Government. Investors should be asking themselves
te ame qeti, ad ld be ecaged t d .
s we ave ee te image f te ladcae, ad we ave
seen some good examples of port development elsewhere.
I wld like t ave a dici wat blic vale will we
ceate? hee i jt a lit (lide 3) f wat te debate ca beabout.
How do we start? How do we define what these public
values are? What the cultural values are? How can we ac-
cept a process beyond the mere designation of zones for
infrastructure and housing? The government announce-
met abt Te Fael Ladcae ak i l a te i
the right direction if they recognize that the port is part of
te ecmical, cial ad ical ladcae, ad tat te
ak ld be develed wit te t, t agait te t.
Vale i eve l itiic, it aive t f wat we vale,
wat te blic vale, ad i teefe e t dici.
Let ave tat dici, be e ad cllabative, tat
wit ele ad tei deam. pla wit ele i mid (i-
cldig te ele w ae tee w) ad we ld aim
ig. Tik agai: w beatifl ca elie be
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