Silvertown Quays
For Lendlease & GLA (Royal Docks Team)
Background
Once a thriving part of the Royal Docks, Silvertown was home to a cluster of innovative industries that pioneered automation and communications.
The iconic Millennium Mills and Silo D stand defiant since they ceased operating in 1981, resisting the countless attempts to develop the area.
Boasting a large dock of fresh water adjacent to the Royal Docks Silvertown Quays is a unique development opportunity.
Role
We have formed a strong working relationship with Lendlease’s Silvertown team and the GLA’s Royal Docks team, becoming a practical on-hand resource and a strategic partner in the development of the Place Platform, seed brand and meanwhile strategy.
‘Research & Report’
We were tasked to assess the inherited conversations and relationships from the previous developer to determine the viability and value of each and provide guidance on what was worth pursuing.
We were tasked to conduct interviews with the key stakeholders in the new development, including members of the GLA’s Royal Docks Team, Lendlease’s CEO and department heads, funding partners and members of Newham Council to determine their core objectives, ambitions and concerns:
- Stakeholder interviews & information harvesting
- On-site and Place Precedent tours with Lendlease team
- Extensive written report and asset bank of scribed interviews, audio recordings, photography and visual scrapbook
Place research & site safaris
We were tasked with selecting a number of key international and local precedents and case studies to influence and inspire on the ground thinking around leasing and content.
Personal experience and knowledge, desk based research and site safaris and guided tours were utilised to curate a selection of Leading Lights and Cautionary Tales.
London based safaris and guided tours were identified, organised and run for the Silvertown team to experience organic content and culture in parallel with designed and managed environments.
- Place reports
- Specific case studies
- Place Safaris (informal & guided tours)
‘Design charrettes’
We were tasked by to write, facilitate, produce and manage a series of workshops to open-up thinking around the future vision of Silvertown and the Millennium Mills.
We identified and recruited inspiring thinkers, architects, designers, property experts, curators and brands to challenge thinking and participate in collaborative design sessions.
The workshops were designed to bring in insight from the best in the world, inviting external subject matter experts to open up thinking on each theme and present cutting edge global benchmarks, which informed the briefs for meanwhile use and the masterplan.
Over a 3-week period we held 4 charrettes, 3 on-site at silvertown, to kick start the creative place thinking, based on
‘Place & Context’
‘People & Culture’
‘Experience & Life’
‘Narrative Vision’
We produced practical and tangible outputs that became part of the design thinking and architect briefs for the Millennium Mills and the Silvertown Masterplan.
To embed internal ownership and action we proposed appointing Lendlease internal champions to be responsible for taking each of these themes forward on
a practical level.
- Design & facilitation
- Participant curation
- Production & management
- Capturing & reporting
- Vox pops - Design charrette speakers and participants
Silvertown Quays ‘Experience & Life’ design charrette with Q&A featuring Luke Scheybeler of the cult cycling brand Rapha
Meanwhile Strategy
We were tasked by to create an ambitious, aspirational yet realistic meanwhile strategy for Silvertown. Our holistic commercial placemaking approach is based on phased activations and strategic partnerships with leading cultural operators & curators, brands and leisure and F&B specialists to create a catalyst of activity and publicity to drive interest, footfall and, importantly, healthy revenues, that will be reinvested.
We are currently in the final stages of being appointed to implement our Meanwhile strategy.
- Opportunity assessment
- Meanwhile strategy
- Commercialisation & partnerships
- Curation & content creation
- Activation & estate management
Brand Communications: Seed brand
We were tasked to create a Seed Brand for Silvertown Quays that can be used in the interim period prior to the full brand identity development.
- Logo
- Typefaces
- Colour ways
- Template layouts
- Website
Silvertown Quays seed brand
Brand Communications: Brand films
We were also tasked to write, produce, direct and edit a series for films to highlight the uniqueness of the Silvertown opportunity, beginning with a film for the Project Director for screening at the international Lendlease conference in Sydney, Australia.
- Project director film
- Design charrette films
- Meanwhile opportunity scene setting film
- Drone footage film
- Millennium Mills - internal film
- Web banner film
Silvertown web banner film (to be looped)