Network of Public Spaces The Tide, London

About

The Tide is a network of public spaces and gardens within the urban fabric of Greenwich Peninsula, in southeast London. Of the 5 kilometers foreseen in the master plan, one fifth has been completed in a first phase connecting the intermodal hub with the Thames River shore. Through the superposition of two levels of use, the project seeks multiplying the leisure, culture, and well-being activities in the neighborhood. The modules, shaped as inverted pyramids, are grouped together creating a series of islands conceived as elevated landscapes from which to contemplate the environment and as canopies that shelter the path below. Aside from resisting the weight of the earth, each element has an integrated lighting, drainage, and data distribution system. So that the construction can be as light as possible and to avoid overloading the underground metro structure, the supports were designed as the wings of an airplane with a frame of internal ribs clad in steel sheet lacquered in white. The different pieces, calculated with parametric tools, were prefabricated in a workshop and screwed on site in just a few days. Glass, wood, or rice husk composite round off the material palette of this new urban infrastructure.

Sources

• Arquitectura Viva