New Pier Wharf

The Greater London population is approximately nine million and more people are moving into the city every year. But building land remains scarce, despite the Docklands regeneration project which provided a great deal of inner-city space for redevelopment many years ago. Where men with calloused fingers used to load wood and bulk cargos, more and more residential and office towers have been built over the last thirty years or so, and with them property prices have soared. These properties compete for the best, unobstructed view of the River Thames. Offering river views was also crucial for the architects of New Pier Wharf. They have staggered and tiered the building in such a way that all residents in the slender tower either have an unobstructed view of the river or look out over the city centre skyline and can see treetops in the local park. Most of the flats even offer a vista of both. This is thanks to the unusual, step-like and staggered format of the volume, which ensures well-lit, very functional floor plans and makes the absolute most of the space and views. The architects chose a slender, yellow-brown, brick for the façade, typical in London and similar to the material used in neighbouring buildings and numerous workers' homes on the outskirts of the city. They opted for brass-look ALUCOBOND® tray panels cladding for the window parapets and the sides of the balconies to add a sophisticated shine and to contrast with the rough brickwork. The architects’ façade design has touched on the essence of the Docklands transformation: new, chic and gentrified properties in areas of London which were once rough and dirty. They have fused the myth of the down-to-earth, rough and ready working class city with the capital which is simultaneously traditional and class conscious yet hip. Anyone who takes the kilometre-long river promenade following every loop of the Thames, inevitably passes this building. Visitors can take a break on the ground floor terrace of the Tower, look across the Thames to Canary Wharf on the opposite bank and marvel at how London has grown and reinvented itself within a mere three decades.

Project: New Pier Wharf, London | United Kingdom

Architect: Burwell Deakins Architects, London | United Kingdom

Fabricator: RCM Roofing and Cladding Materials Ltd,, Newcastle under Lyme | United Kingdom

Installer: Dmitro Facades Ltd, London | United Kingdom

Façade System: Tray panels screwed

Year of Construction: 2018

Product: ALUCOBOND® A2 naturAL Copper & anodized look C32

Photos / Drawings:        Clive Sherlock / Dmitro