Stockwell Urban Vision

In 2007 DSDHA were appointed by the London Borough of Lambeth to develop a wide-ranging spatial strategy for the regeneration of Stockwell, focusing on its public realm as much as community assets. Since then our involvement has been ongoing.

After conducting extensive research on the ground and public engagement to best understand local issues, we identified a series of short, medium and long term opportunities to breathe new life into some of the most unsafe and poorly maintained areas of Stockwell. 

To date five phases of our original vision have come into fruition. These are: a new public realm for Wilcox Road; significant improvements to the area around Stockwell Tube Station; a new landscaping scheme for the nearby Stockwell Memorial Gardens; the removal of the gyratory at this busy traffic node and the improvements to the public space outside the neighbouring Grade II* listed bus garage. 

Following the success of Wilcox Road, and aware that feedback from local people had focused on increased safety and creating more convivial public spaces, we looked at the area around Stockwell Station. Our research showed that Stockwell lacked a "point of arrival" and the civic presence that most successful  neighbourhoods have. Looking through historical photos, it became clear that the site used to be a calmer, more human-friendly meeting place, which had been compromised by additions to the tube stations and road building. 

In response, our scheme delivered a new public realm to dignify the entrance to the station and reconnect it to the listed bus garage nearby. To this end we widened and repaved the footways next to the tube station exit, installed a new bespoke bus stop canopy on Binfield Road, planted new trees and relocated the cycle lane to make more space for pedestrians. 

All these changes sought to reduce the predominance of vehicles, to rebalance this intense traffic node in favour of pedestrians and cyclists, while sustaining local businesses and offering the opportunity for people to gather and hold markets as well as other events. 

The subsequent phase of our design pushed this approach even further, by closing one arm of the of the district’s gyratory road system to create a new public space and a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists. Working with the Friends of Stockwell War Memorial we developed a robust paving and planting scheme for the area, which extended the public realm surrounding Stockwell Station to connect with the nearby war memorial. What was once an isolated circular island, became a welcoming triangular open space, with traffic directed along two sides and the third side re-connected the memorial to the nearest pavement. 


Team:
Landscape and spatial strategy: DSDHA
Project Manager: London Borough of Lambeth
Lighting design: Studio Dekka
Bus Shelter fabrication: Millimetre
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