3.8 BUILDING ON ASSETS: RESPONDING TO CONTEXT IN DETAILED DESIGN Introduction There is a robust, utilitarian aesthetic and scale to the buildings that contributes positively to Hackney Wick and that, coupled with the ‘island’ nature of Hackney Wick, results in a particular sense of place.
The remaining heritage assets of Hackney Wick offer strong precedents that can inform a variety of approaches to the design of new elevations, the resolution of detail and their relationship to the spaces around them.
A great variety of façade treatments exist that are executed with a limited palette of brick; whether the traditional construction of 19th century buildings or as infill panels on buildings such as Oslo House. Generally, the bricks used are London stocks or hard red or blue engineering bricks. A typical combination is stock brick walls with blue brick plinths and detailing and segmental arches, iron or steel lintels and metal-framed windows that may be framed, as with doorways, in contrasting brick.
There are precedents for successful elevational treatments where uniform window dimensions, a simple lexicon of expressed sills and lintels result in a balance of repetition and detail and a balance between horizontal and vertical emphasis. Gestural embellishment should be
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avoided. There is a generous scale to ground floor openings connecting streets and yards, and providing for clear articulation of entrances. Tall windows and generous top-lit upper floors were the pragmatic response to naturally lit work spaces, but also contribute to the pedestrian’s experience of the streetscape.
There are also remnants of many demolished buildings and yard enclosures remaining in the form of walls, doorways and gateposts. These sometimes include closed-up openings between former buildings and the waterfront. In addition to analysis of context, therefore, all proposed schemes should commence with an inventory of what remains on site including material remnants and traces of former uses, adjacencies to existing buildings, and infrastructure.
Responding To Context Hackney Wick is an entity that extends across individual conservation areas and London borough boundaries. Developers should be looking to preserve and enhance the character of Hackney Wick as a whole by looking at this wider identity and the heritage assets within in it to inform future development. There is a sufficient diversity in the assets present to allow new, complementary development to be both innovative and contextually sensitive. However, the sensitivity of each individual site also varies considerably and an acknowledgment and response to the immediate context of a proposal is the starting point.
The intention of this guidance is not to be overly prescriptive and, as noted in the heritage section above, pastiche is not generally encouraged. Instead, high quality, innovative architecture that has regard to the historic environment should be the norm.
All buildings that face the public realm have a duty to contribute to the character and qualities of the place through both their appearance and how they affect the workings of the street. Hackney Wick & Fish Island Design & Planning Guidance 83