The Waterman
Location
London, UK
Client
Knight Dragon
Gross Floor Area m²
26,501
Status
Completed
Pilbrow & Partners have been commissioned to develop in detail the pair of tall buildings at the heart of the masterplan of the east of Greenwich Peninsula.
The Waterman, completed in 2017, marks the first phase of the realisation of our masterplan. The building delivers 269 new homes and a new public square at the heart of the new urban district.
In 2013 Pilbrow & Partners’ proposals for a five block masterplan to the east of the Greenwich Peninsula were selected following an invited competition. Our approach refined an earlier masterplan building on its clear urban block structure. The Waterman is the key residential aspect of the Greenwich Riverside masterplan and contains each of the masterplan’s elements including a new public space, a low-rise parameter courtyard and a slender tall building.
A six-storey low-rise building creates carefully-scaled street facades at the perimeter of the block and a private internal garden for residents. Townhouses activate the base of the building; their two-storey scale expressed as a robust stone plinth. The top floor is recessed as an attic, facing the coal loader jetty on the River Thames; this floor is drawn forward to create four dramatic, cantilevered penthouses.
The tower building is arranged as two wings flanking the central core. Each wing contains three flats so that every apartment is dual aspect. L-shaped living rooms are set around generous corner balconies to maximise panoramic views, with the upper-most floors reduced to one wing only with a communal residential garden, planned where the building sets back.
Ground floor residential accommodation has been constructed above semi-recessed parking so that the apartments are lifted above the public realm with private terraces that overlook the footway; a contemporary reinterpretation of the classic Georgian section. Full disabled access is provided by lifting Tidemill Square up over the parking and using the gentle rise of the roads to deliver fully accessible entrances for all.
The Waterman offers a residents’ garden that forms part of a range of communal facilities which includes a club room and cinema, which is projected into the portico that overlooks Tidemill Square.
In 2013 Pilbrow & Partners’ proposals for a five block masterplan to the east of the Greenwich Peninsula were selected following an invited competition. Our approach refined an earlier masterplan building on its clear urban block structure. The Waterman is the key residential aspect of the Greenwich Riverside masterplan and contains each of the masterplan’s elements including a new public space, a low-rise parameter courtyard and a slender tall building.
A six-storey low-rise building creates carefully-scaled street facades at the perimeter of the block and a private internal garden for residents. Townhouses activate the base of the building; their two-storey scale expressed as a robust stone plinth. The top floor is recessed as an attic, facing the coal loader jetty on the River Thames; this floor is drawn forward to create four dramatic, cantilevered penthouses.
The tower building is arranged as two wings flanking the central core. Each wing contains three flats so that every apartment is dual aspect. L-shaped living rooms are set around generous corner balconies to maximise panoramic views, with the upper-most floors reduced to one wing only with a communal residential garden, planned where the building sets back.
Ground floor residential accommodation has been constructed above semi-recessed parking so that the apartments are lifted above the public realm with private terraces that overlook the footway; a contemporary reinterpretation of the classic Georgian section. Full disabled access is provided by lifting Tidemill Square up over the parking and using the gentle rise of the roads to deliver fully accessible entrances for all.
The Waterman offers a residents’ garden that forms part of a range of communal facilities which includes a club room and cinema, which is projected into the portico that overlooks Tidemill Square.
