Resistance and Rebirth
Current urban planning
– Revitalization of Abandoned Dock and Ruins
Location
Challenges and opportunities of the Site
Silvertown Plan
The green spaces around the Royal Docks include Thames Barrier Park and Britannia Village, connected to Beckton Park via road networks, forming an extensive ecological and recrea�onal network.
Large-scale redevelopment can erase the original character of a place.
£5 billion in funding
Working class
House prices ↑
ExCeL London
Royal Docks
The Royal Docks, once a bustling industrial hub, now stand as abandoned structures and vast waterways. Ruins like warehouses and Millennium Mills reflect their past glory, with nature reclaiming the decay.
Industrial Remants
Strange Space
Messy Plants
Combining ruins with vegeta�on
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Unregulated behavior
Fun Ac�vi�es
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6,5
London City Airport
Cost of Living ↑
The Site
Experimental grounds for crea�vity and diversity.
Middle class
Beckton Park
Britannia Village
Opportunities
The £5 billion Silvertown development will bring around 6,500 new homes to the Royal Docks area.
Site Analysis
Royal Docks, London, UK Area: 224,383㎡
Challengs
REINFORCE THE SITE’S IDENTITY
Design Strategy
Thames Barrier Park
In response to upcoming redevelopment, this proposal acts as a transi�onal phase that preserves the ruins and celebrates the beauty of decay.
Thames River
UK
Moore Park
London
Road Network
History
Site Features Now
The Blitz
Rusty machines with interes�ng shapes in the factory interior.
Metro& Light Rail
Major Roads
Rusted Machines
Now
Rebuilt Millennium Mills, 1934 Rebuilt Millennium Rebuilt Millennium 1855 1934
Docks established
The impact of WWII
Train
Future
5-10 years
The mill in ruins Buy the Docks campaign,1984
1981~1987 The Docks closed and The Campaign Aganist the Airport
Now Now~ London Docklands Development Corpora�on (LDDC)
Impact on working class and local communities
Greening the Structure
Activities
It is currently closed. No one will come except for applying to shoot a video
The landscape is gradually taking shape, introducing more ac�vi�es
Plants grow and surrounding buildings are completed
The walls are covered with climbing plants, blending nature with the industrial environment.
Water h�ps://www.migra�onmuseum.org/tag/israel-zangwill/
Bringing Migrant Worker Communi�es
The Labor Roles of Immigrant and Migrant Worker Communi�es
Racism and Social Exclusion
Accelera�ng Gentrifica�on
Lifeless
Characteristics of the Site London City Airport When it was built, it was opposed by residents who were concerned about noise impact and quality of life.
The current ground is mostly concrete.
Millennium Mills Built in 1905, this Silvertown flour mill reflects industrial heritage. It was abandoned a�er the docks closed in 1981.
Creating Space for Pioneer Species Remove some of the plan�ngs to allow pioneer plants to grow.
Wild Landscape The sapling grows into a tree, and its roots destroy the concrete. Make the landscape look “wilder”.
Silo D Constructed in 1920, this iconic reinforced concrete grain silo exemplifies early modernist architecture.
The Abandoned Victoria Dock The Royal Docks thrived as a freight hub in the 1880s but declined with container shipping and closed in 1981.
Wasteland The wasteland of the Royal Docks reflects its industrial past and decline, with overgrown vegeta�on, crumbling buildings, and abandoned spaces sca�ered across the area.
AHMM (Allford Hall Monaghan Morris) 2025, Millennium Mills: Reuse Project, viewed 22 January 2025, https://www.ahmm.co.uk/projects/reuse/millennium-mills/. Edensor, T., 2005. Industrial Ruins: Spaces, Aesthetics and Materiality. Oxford: Berg. Available at: <http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474214940> [Accessed 20 Jan. 2025].