Greenwich Peninsula

Greenwich Peninsula: an almost-island of opportunity wrapped by the serene river Thames. The Peninsula is undergoing the largest single regeneration seen for a generation. Redrawing part of London into a place for first-time buyers, creatives and breakthrough artists, left-field theatre companies and upside-down pylons, it’s an expression of the world’s boldest architects. The vision for Greenwich Peninsula is ambitious and eclectic and, despite the challenging circumstances, we remain focused on realising its full potential. Read more about how we are bringing this emerging neighbourhood to life.

Emerging as something of an ultimate urban village, the Peninsula finds its form under the masterplan of London architects Allies and Morrison. The firm, which celebrated its 35th year in 2020, came to the project with impressive pedigree having conceived schemes for the London Olympic Park and the Argent King’s Cross development.

Here, the vision imagines more than the usual large-scale office space to create a whole neighbourhood of new ideas. It enhances the Peninsula’s status as a hub for London’s culture-savvy and design-conscious.

At the heart of Greenwich Peninsula, the Design District will be London’s first permanent, purpose-built hub for the creative industries. A collection of 16 unique buildings designed by a team of eight leading architects, it’ll support an ecosystem of 1,800 creatives, encompassing individual makers, industry leaders, ambitious start-ups, ground-breaking enterprises and celebrated international studios.

It is a masterplan based on ideas rather than trends, and, unusually for a development of this scale, one with a rich and varied overarching design scheme, unlike other more uniform projects.

Pioneering the creative charge is Conrad Shawcross, who was commissioned to reimagine the new Low Carbon Energy Centre on the Peninsula. He added a 49-metre tower, The Optic Cloak.

The Peninsula, as it is surrounded on three sides by water, has a similar feel to New York—the sun rises and sets over the sea, so you get this reflected light. The building itself was of particular intrigue, because it was this very thin slice—only three metres wide—so there was an opportunity to do something that light could pass through.