View across the Thames to the Millenium Dome from the reimagined pier.
PROJECTS

East India Dock Basin: where history meets natural processes

View across the Thames to the Millenium Dome from the reimagined pier.
View across the Thames to the Millenium Dome from the reimagined pier.

East India Dock Basin, a local nature reserve in East London, was once part of a large network of docks operated by the East India Company, the entity which, for decades, commercially and politically ruled most of modern India. Today, it is surrounded by the creeping metropolis, with 30+ storey tower blocks sprouting up in a tight urban mesh. It is one of very few green spaces in the borough of Tower Hamlets, and pressure on its services is going to increase further with the redevelopment of neighbouring Orchard Wharf as a residential project with more than 200 homes and accommodation for 1,400 students. Silt has also been building up in the basin, with every receding tide leaving further alluvial deposits, adversely affecting species of diving birds and detrimental to biodiversity.

This project is about harnessing the power of natural processes, from silt to vegetation, to bring back the layers of history which have occupied the site and to shape a lasting identity for the former dock basin.

Vegetation expands as the ground settles over 25 years.
Vegetation expands as the ground settles over 35 years.

Harnessing the power of natural processes

The project aims to work with the natural siltation process to expand the land mass in the basin, allowing vegetation to expand and making more land available for ground-dwelling species. Silt will be removed from the south side of the basin and deposited on the north side of the basin; the resulting terraces will be spiled with locally grown willow, and built up to just above high-tide levels. This will further support biodiversity and create a more resilient local ecosystem.

The project embraces the silting process as a way of expanding lost ground.
Decommissioned boats will be brought in as outsized planters and silt will be encouraged to settle and used for ground expansion.
Spiling, using stems from locally grown trees, will help retain silt and encourage ground and vegetation expansion.
Spiling, using stems from locally grown trees, will help retain silt and encourage ground and vegetation expansion.
Spiling will allow the ground to expand, creating more opportunities for vegetation and habitat creation.
Spiling will allow the ground to expand, and decommissioned boats planted up, creating more opportunities for vegetation and habitat creation.

Reviving the site’s legacy

Several features will also reference the site’s historical legacy, from reinstating a former jetty using upcycled material, bringing back the memory of East India ships by repurposing decommissioned ships, and re-opening a path along the old dock side to create a circular route around the basin.

Boats beyond recovery will be brought in and dismantled, their boards used to build the reimagined pier.
Boats beyond recovery will be brought in and dismantled, their boards used to build the reimagined pier.
Section showing the reborn pier, providing views around the basin.
Section showing the reborn pier, providing views around the basin.
Masterplan showing the resurrected pier, the sunken boats planted up, and the ground expansion with vegetation.
Masterplan showing the resurrected pier, the sunken boats planted up, and the ground expansion with vegetation.

Reinventing the picturesque landscape for future generations

Finally, the project will open vistas around the site, working with key historic focal points and creating a sense of drama in the manner of the picturesque landscape movement, which emerged when the East India Company was at its peak. It will be a landscape designed from the past to serve future generations.

New entrance to East India Docks Basin, with generous planting to provide a sense of arrival and create habitat.
New entrance to East India Docks Basin, with generous planting to provide a sense of arrival and create habitat.
View across the Thames to the Millenium Dome from the reimagined pier.
View across the Thames to the Millenium Dome from the reimagined pier.

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