“contribute to the city and the riverside in
terms of providing a meaningful public
space.” In addition, the client was also
attracted by the practice’s keenness to
collaborate, including with the marine
engineers on the project, Beckett Rankine.
The steel, aluminium and timber
structure replaces a derelict jetty with
something with a great deal of architectural
merit, but which also serves the practical
needs of a new population of city dwellers
living in Royal Wharf but commuting to
other parts of the city. It has also been
designed as a public space in its own right,
so serving the potentially conflicting needs
of lingering visitors and commuters in a
rush was a key challenge for the architects.A ‘dog leg’
In Dempsey’s words, the client’s desire was
that the pier should be “distinctive, high
quality and memorable,” and that’s why
“they looked for the design to be a close
collaboration between an architect andengineer.” The key distinguishing aspect of
the pier is its ‘dog leg’ structure, angling out
to the east from the riverbank to a
triangular public viewing platform pointing
towards the Thames Barrier, then back
towards the city, terminating in a floating
pontoon waiting area.
This division initially came from an
architectural decision to break the pier
down into “more manageable distances,”
says Dempsey. The pier needed to extend
130 metres to reach water deep enough for
the Thames Clipper during all tides – the
tidal range is high at that point of the river- but this would have made for a long, and
perhaps oppressive walkway. He adds: “We
didn’t want the sense of travelling down a
tunnel or a long series of gangways, it was
really about opening up the expansive views
wherever we could.”
With the decision made to separate the
pier into two sections, the architects decided
to design the first 40 metres as a generous
“public promenade.” This is divided by a
TWO PIERS IN ONE
The pier is divided into two sections connected by a
triangular viewing platform; the first section providing
an open public promenade, and the second a more en-
closed gangway for commuters
64PROJECT REPORT: TRANSPORT FACILITIES & PUBLIC REALMWWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF FEBRUARY 2020
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