LA DISMINUCION DE LA CAPA DE OZONO

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Oxo Tower Wharf, a successful mixed-use building on South Bank, demonstrates how potential conflicts between different users can be minimised through design.

The 15,000m2 _{Oxo Tower Wharf is home to shops, cafés, craft}

workshops/retail spaces, an exhibition/event space, 78 homes for Coin Street Secondary Housing Association and two successful restaurants. The challenge was to minimise potential conflicts between these different user groups and ensure successful co-existence of residential tenants, workshop owners/users and the many visitors. This was achieved through building layout, distribution of uses and access and servicing strategies. The lower two levels house shops, cafés and craft workshops/ retail spaces. The ground floor also includes the Coin Street Exhibition and a gallery. On the second floor are a food court and 33 further designer workshops. The residential area above consists of five floors and enjoys its own entrance, lifts and parking. The rooftop, also designed to be accessible by all for public viewing, is home to the Oxo Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie.

Creation of three 10-storey cores – a new main core directly below the Oxo Tower and two secondary cores at each end of the building – were critical for managing circulation and services, and reinforcing the visual organisation of the building.

“It’s not an irony that the restaurants are there… Any strategy that is sustainable has got to have something which brings in money and recycles it – it’s a Robin Hood approach!”

Ian Tuckett, Executive Director, Coin Street Community Builders, explains the economic strategy behind Oxo Tower’s success in his interview with journalist Andrew Bibby. Oxo Tower was developed by CSCB independently (instead of a joint venture), to ensure continued control over its commercial lettings.

The Oxo Tower Wharf successfully blends residential, commercial, workspaces and offices on London’s South Bank.

KEY MESSAGES FOR SECTION 2.3

1. A mix of uses is required to make successful places.

2. A mix of uses will attract a mix of users to contribute to vitality. 3. Buildings and streets must be adaptable.

2.4.1 Density and quality

2.4.2 Density and built-form

2.4.3 Measuring density

2.4.4 Determining appropriate densities

2.4.5 Density and time

Building at higher densities not only makes more efficient use of land but can also deliver higher quality. Decisions on what density levels are appropriate for a location can be biased by negative perceptions. Some people imagine high density as being tall buildings crammed with small apartments which fail to relate to the local context. A greater understanding is required of how, with careful planning and good design, higher- density schemes can create successful places with a range of housing types, good space standards and an attractive public realm.

Many villages and market towns are widely seen as attractive places in which to live, yet have a compact form and relatively high density. This form and density provides support for shops, services and amenities. Good design will establish densities which are appropriate for each particular location.

2.4.1 Density and quality

Making efficient use of land

The efficient use of land is an important objective in making development more sustainable. It is embedded in government policy. Compact development not only uses less land, but it also has the potential to create efficiencies in the use of other resources, including energy supply and transportation (see section 2.2).

Benefits of compact neighbourhoods

The compact design of neighbourhoods can bring a number of qualitative benefits:

• Amenity – Higher densities support mixed uses and can provide a balanced range of facilities within a 5–10 minute walk.

• Housing – The stock can more easily provide a wider range of housing types and tenures.

• Transportation – The development provides a customer base for effective public transport, while promoting cycling.

• Economy – The development can make local business more viable.

• Social – Passive surveillance and opportunities for social use of public spaces are improved.

• Energy – There are opportunities for more efficient form of energy supply, including local generation and distribution networks.

• Landscape – Countryside is retained and new landscape open space can be provided.

Densities of 50 dwellings per hectare (dph) or more have been found to support local services and make low carbon local energy provision more viable. This figure is below that for high density in the Urban Design Compendium and East Thames Gateway Higher Density Toolkit1 _{(both 70dph) and}

London Housing Federation’s Higher Density Housing for Families: a design and specification guide2 _{(80dph). 036}

2.4.2 Density and built-form

Perceptions of density 037

Density is just one aspect of built form. Building height, block size and building typology will all affect the character of an area and the perceptions of density.

Height does not necessarily increase density. High buildings can be less efficient in terms of the ratio of net to gross areas. Nor does a building need to be tall to be a landmark. The contribution that a tall building makes to the look of the street will depend on how it meets the ground.

Requirements of higher-density development

Many schemes are perceived to be excessively dense because they struggle to provide a comfortable environment or necessary amenity. To avoid this, higher-density schemes should pay particular consideration to the following:

• Context – Density needs to be appropriate to context. This does not mean that density should always be the same as the surrounding area, but new buildings need to respect their neighbours.

INTEGRATED DESIGN 2.4

Creating an attractive high-density development