Reconstruction from discovery: An urban design masterplan for Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich

Abstract

In March 1995 the London Borough of Greenwich commissioned an urban design masterplan for the Cutty Sark Gardens area of Greenwich. Although enjoying a riverside location and already containing a number of tourist attractions, the Gardens have suffered from a lack of investment and integrated planning. The project offered the opportunity to regenerate a key Thameside public open space and has since gained even greater significance with the decision to site the UK's Millennium exhibition in Greenwich. Timpson and Manley here describe their design method, which seeks to uncover design solutions that are rooted in the particular history of the place, and go on to illustrate how their proposals arrive at this historical analysis. Their brief required them to regenerate a neglected space and build onto the locational importance of the Cutty Sark Gardens as a gateway to Greenwich. This strategy is integrally linked with the tourism strategy which will introduce a new interpretation centre for Greenwich and a new visitor centre for the Cutty Sark.