Q&A with John Lewis,executive director Thamesmead at Peabody
What is your vision for the new library and how will this contest achieve it?
We want to create a waterside civic building that lasts and that is a source of pride for the local community. Having a building that gets noticed is important in itself because it will be in the heart of South Thamesmead’s cultural quarter. It will be what welcomes visitors to the lake who have arrived on the train. It is going to be built on the banks of Southmere Lake, close to the Crossrail station, close to new shops and homes, and over the lake from an arts centre.
Proctor & Matthews as master architects and the RIBA are going to help us balance the aesthetics, the functionality and features of the new building. It will need to have lots of natural daylight and be a warm, inspiring place of learning and wellbeing. The challenge is to make those links and get a cohesive result.
The London Borough of Bexley are our partners in this – they are taking part in the process of selecting a firm to take the building to planning, and of course they will be leading on service provision. The council shares our vision for a high-quality civic building in this part of the town.
We also want to involve local people, capturing their views about how they want the building to look and feel, and also how they would use it, what services and features they want. We’ll have people living all around it and it is vital that they are engaged in the process and feel it is of inherent value to them.
What sort of architects and designers are you hoping will apply?
We are seeking new ideas that fit well with the Proctor & Matthews designs of the wider area. Young and emerging architects, and upcoming talent with fresh thinking would be fantastic. There is no minimum turnover so we hope that will unlock an opportunity for people who may not have engaged with us before. Similarly, international firms from other countries are welcome to reach out and help us realiseThamesmead’s potential with a civic building of the future. Of course we welcome entries from our panel and the multitude of talented firms out there.
Which other design opportunities are on the horizon and how will the architects be procured?
There are major commissions coming down the line which will encompass new mixed-use buildings, public realm improvements and green interventions. We’re also looking at bringing in design guides for leaseholders in the low-rise areas of refurbishment and change close to what we are calling our heritage towers. This will bring a sense of cohesion and consistency to the areas of change.
We’re also going to be looking at a significant commercial scheme at Crossquarter by the Elizabeth Line, which will be a combination of offices and multi-use flexible space – affordable rented commercial space by the station that is generating a lot of interest from businesses. We’ll be looking for a design team for that.
We will also have major schemes being brought forward on the other side of Thamesmead – in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. West Thamesmead Gateway has been designed by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, and Pitman Tozer have designed The Reach which is 100 per cent affordable and is our first Thamesmead scheme. We are going to be looking at schemes, development partners and design teams within the Gateway and also in the Thamesmead Waterfront area. This has capacity for 11,500 homes and 1m sqft of commercial space. This is a big area for architects and the associated professions and we are looking forward to it. There is certainly the potential for more competitions down the line.
How will the new building relate to its surroundings?
We are not looking to build statement buildings for the sake of it; we want something that has longevity and to provide inspiration to people in Thamesmead. It will be a library for the 21st century, with creative space and using new technologies.
We are looking beyond aesthetics and thinking about how it connects to the wider residential and public realm assets – the homes, the shops, the streets and courtyards, the lake and the community facilities.