The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has announced the design teams for the new Pudding Mill neighbourhood on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which include the architectural practice behind the 2019 RIBA Stirling Prize winner.

The new neighbourhood will consist of two sites, known as Pudding Mill Lane and Bridgewater. Around 1,500 new homes are set to be built between the sites, alongside enough workspace for 2,000 jobs and a thriving new neighbourhood centre for the community.

The Pudding Mill Lane site, adjacent to the DLR station, will be designed by Gort Scott, 5th Studio and Jonathan Cook Landscape Architects. Plans for the site include around 900 new homes, with a significant proportion designed for families, with a minimum of three bedrooms. Pudding Mill Lane will also host at least 40 units of purpose built accommodation for older people, alongside 36,000 sqm of employment space and health and community facilities.

The Bridgewater site will be designed by Mikhail Riches, RCKa, William Matthews Associates and BBUK Landscape Architects. Earlier this month, Mikhail Riches won the 2019 RIBA Stirling Prize for Goldsmith Street, a social housing development in Norwich. The plans for Bridgewater include C. 600 new homes, again with a focus on family housing. The site will also include space for community facilities and retail.

The new neighbourhoods will deliver 40 per cent affordable housing, split between a mix of London Affordable Rent, London Living Rent and Shared Ownership. The entire neighbourhood will be designed with sustainability in mind, with all commercial buildings aiming for a BREEAM Excellent rating and all residential homes achieving a Code for Sustainable Homes 4+ with a credit score of 75. Enabling people to walk, cycle and use public transport will also be an important part of the development’s sustainability, with both sites containing limited amounts of private car parking.

Rosanna Lawes, Executive Director of Development, London Legacy Development Corporation, said:
“Pudding Mill will be a thriving new neighbourhood on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and we’re determined to build high-quality new homes and significant commercial space, generating jobs and homes across a variety of tenures, affordable and for sale which cater for everybody. We’ll continue to work closely with people in the area as we develop our plans with our design teams, ahead of a planning application submission next year.”

Jay Gort, Director at Gort Scott Architects, said:

“We are delighted to be working with the LLDC on such a fantastic opportunity. For years our practice has been fascinated by the challenge of how to make successful mixed-use neighbourhoods, and this is proving to be a great project to build on our experience and research. In close collaboration with 5th Studio, officers at the LLDC and a wider team that includes JCLA, ZCD and PBA we will be continuously questioning: what type of neighbourhood should Pudding Mill be?”

Annalie Riches, founding director of Mikhail Riches, said:

“Our appointment by the London Legacy Development Corporation to design the Bridgewater masterplan in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park gives us the opportunity to work with a dynamic team to create a new, thoughtfully designed family focused neighbourhood, that’s environmentally and sustainably conscious, being virtually car free and aiming for zero carbon. We now look forward to listening to, and learning about what local people think and feel is important about this site.” 

Local engagement on the plans for the new neighbourhood has started, with LLDC asking to hear local people’s priorities and aspirations for the area. The consultation site, available at https://puddingmill.commonplace.is/ will be open for comments until Wednesday October 23 for the first phase of engagement.