The re-development of an underused brownfield and protected wharf site on the River Thames near Wandsworth Bridge into a high-quality mixed-use development has been granted planning permission. Chetwoods is providing Design Guardian services for re-providing the wharf element of the scheme for continued industrial use.

As a former industrial shipping site, Albert and Swedish Wharves are safeguarded. Safeguarded wharves are those wharves in London which have been given special status by the Mayor of London’s London Plan, which ensures they are retained as working wharves and are protected from redevelopment into non-port use.

Following our work with the Greater London Authority on Industrial Intensification pilot studies in London, we have assisted in developing the wharf specification for Albert and Swedish Wharves to suit occupier needs.

The historic wharf will be preserved and re-purposed to provide a 55,000 sqft logistics depot for flexible industrial, storage or distribution uses, for waterborne cargo handling, with 285 flats overlooking the river developed above the wharf.

The sustainable-led development will also improve green space and biodiversity and join up the Thames Path from Wandsworth Bridge to Fulham Wharf for the first time.

Our Industrial Intensification Expertise and Experience  

Our architectural experience in the UK, Germany and China includes several Industrial Intensification developments where we are working with clients to realise the practical, contextual and commercial potential of former industrial sites to create new multi-use co-location typologies.

Our research into Industrial Intensification has also analysed different SIL types in London from multiple points of view, to gauge the scope for new multi-use combinations that look at logistics at different scales as part of a co-location of urban uses including residential, retail, recreational, cultural and social spaces, and members of our Industrial Intensification team sit on the NLA’s Industrial and Logistics Expert Panel.

We are currently delivering ultra-urban warehouses on previously unviable city centre sites, refurbishing old industrial heritage buildings for modern day logistics and industrial uses, and blending existing and new buildings on SIL land.

Our 35-year track record includes the delivery of more than 4.5 million sqm of logistics space that has pioneered advances in sustainability and construction, and demonstrated design innovation, sustainability expertise, and optimal partnering and delivery.

Our projects range from single units to large multi-modal developments; from the eco-template we developed for logistics developments more than twenty years ago, to the delivery of the world’s first building verified as net-zero for construction in line with the UKGBC framework. We also designed and delivered the world’s first WELL™️ Building Standard industrial pilot building and the first BREEAM Outstanding logistics building at design stage.

Image credit: epr Architects

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