Calven Lee — London City Reservoir

London City Reservoir- Robust architecture meets water infrastructure – utilising Royal Docks’ water holding facilities to store freshwater.

Thameside West Masterplan – As London’s population rises to 10 million by 2035, becoming a megacity in the process, Thames Water Utilities Ltd has identified London’s future fresh water shortage.

This new institute aims to promote this ethos through further water industry research and development to find new innovative ways to provide London with the increase in freshwater the city requires.

The proposal will be adjacent to the Thameside West residential masterplan that is currently being developed by Foster + Partners. The introduction of the river cut to Thameside West will add an even closer relationship of nature and educational resource to dockside living.

Ground Floor Plan – The core idea of the building plan is derived as a series of walls that punctuate the landscape, in which it contains all the service works and water facilities.

Lower Ground Floor Plan – The plan aids in the requirement to contain and separate between functions of institution and laboratory, public and private, water related and non-water related.

The crushed brick contained within the aggregate of the concrete is obtained from the previous building on site. The institute is inspired by a playful notion of redesigning the concrete brick framed brick-infill buildings are once surrounded the docks.

The use of the crushed brick aggregate retains the colouration of the original buildings on site whilst providing a new educational institution and water testing facilities in relation to the new reservoir.

The building will showcase the inner workings of water infrastructure through outwardly displayed services. The facade takes precedent and inspiration of dockside concrete-framed brick infill warehouses.

The atrium acts as the central space to the institution that blends the public and private spaces together. This atrium has been designed to be enjoyed by all living in the surrounding area or visitors to the water institution.

The Thames Water Laboratory forms the central part of the institution and is a hybrid between industrial usage and higher education learning. Half a million water tests are carried out by Thames Water each year.

Lecture Hall – The institute’s two hall spaces can be utilised by surrounding Thameside West residents throughout the week. This provides the institution with maximum usage exposure, creating a space that is part-institution and part community gathering.

The building aims to outwardly display the workings of the water cycle. The institution is further activated as a performative learning resource when it rains – water from the building’s roof if funnelled into a ground floor water pool.