Goodman’s Fields, London
Contractors: Berkeley Group
Architect: A&Q Partnership Ltd
Groundworker: Foundation Developments Ltd
Solution
With fabulous views over the capital and a location within walking distance of the financial district, this seven-acre mixed-use development is leading the way for modern-day city living. The underground car park has been constructed using approximately 5,000m3 of PUDLO concrete to ensure complete watertightness with the reassurance of the PUDLO 20-year warranty on the structure. The entire development is due for completion in 2019 and marks an exciting turning point in Goodman’s Fields’ 500-year history.
Result
Goodman’s Fields is a £800m Berkeley Group development, situated in Aldgate East, just north of Tower Bridge. It provides 900 new homes as well as student accommodation, a hotel, shops, bars, restaurants, office space and a one-acre public park. Named after a 16th century farmer who worked the land, which was once owned by a nearby convent, this area has had many transformations in its time. In the late 17th century Goodman’s Fields went from being predominantly farmland teeming with horses to becoming a very cosmopolitan district with one of the highest concentrations of skilled foreign tradespeople in London at that time.
In its new guise, Goodman’s Fields consists of a pedestrianised zone surrounded by six towers with green roofs and an abundance of public space including landscaped gardens containing dramatic new sculptures and other eye-catching pieces of art. Sculptor Hamish Mackie’s life-size bronze horses are an impressive example of some of the wonderful artistry displayed around Goodman’s Fields, and six of these horses can be seen seemingly charging through the central piazza as a heartfelt tribute to the equine history embedded in this site.
Tony Pidgley CBE, Chairman of Berkeley Group said, “Development is about creating communities. At Goodman’s Fields, we wanted to create one of the finest new squares in London, somewhere you want to meet your friends, relax, read a book and enjoy yourself. Public realm must be at the heart of all regeneration in a world class city. It’s the bedrock upon which you create a sense of community.”
Today Goodman’s Fields would be unrecognisable to those who lived there in centuries gone by but, as well as the bronze horse sculptures, there are other meaningful reminders of those who once made this place their home all those years ago. The newly laid out streets in the area have been named after families linked to the area in the late 17th century; they include Leman Street, Alie Street, Mansell Street and Prescott Street.