Farrells shortlisted by LFA for Royal Docks design charrette 

Custom House aerial photo. (credit: CrossRail Ltd. and Transport for London)

Farrells is one of five practices that was chosen to take part in the London Festival of Architecture’s (LFA) Royal Docks design charrette, alongside Ash Sakula Architects, Sarah Wigglesworth Architects, The Klassnik Corporation with the London School of Architecture (LSA) and LYN Atelier with Urban Narrative.

The charrette was held in order to explore options to boost the connectivity between Custom House station and Royal Victoria in the Royal Docks, an area which will be served by the Elizabeth Line from 2019, and one which is likely to benefit from £314 million worth of generation over the next five years.  The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, are looking to revive and transform the Royal Docks into a commercial and cultural destination.

Tamsie Thomson, director, at LFA told the Architects’ Journal: “In the coming years the Royal Docks will be transformed thanks to millions of pounds of new investment, alongside new links thanks to the arrival of the Elizabeth Line.  The Royal Docks charrette is an opportunity to bring exceptional architectural and design talent alongside local residents, businesses and decision-makers to make the most of the exciting changes now taking place.”

The charrette was held over two days at ExCel London and gave architects the opportunity to address key challenges in the Royal Docks area and to help to come up with a vision and strategy to enable the Royal Docks Team to better serve local communities and businesses, and to attract visitors.

Farrells have been working in the Royal Docks and Greenwich areas on several projects and initiatives over the past decade and in doing so, has gained local knowledge and know-how to visualise, advocate and deliver similar projects.