View along the riverfront showing River walk
Illustrative masterplan
A new primary school sits at the heart of the development
Thameside view overlooking Marmalade Park
Thames Road, London
Thames Road transforms a former industrial enclave on the north bank of the River Thames into a connected and inclusive new urban quarter for the London Borough of Newham.
Industrial legacy
Newham’s riverside was shaped by making and exchange: factories producing everyday goods, sustained by the River Thames and a close-knit local workforce. Our approach to Thames Road builds on this legacy, reimagining the 6.1-hectare site as a mixed-use neighbourhood that celebrates its past, responds to the borough’s housing needs, and extends East London’s emerging residential district.
Live, learn and work
Bordered by the operating Tate and Lyle factory to its east, our challenge was to breathe life and community into a highly industrialised pocket of riverside. At Thames Road, people take centre stage with over 1,600 new homes—including affordable housing, family homes and co-living—woven together with light industrial and maker spaces. At the heart of the neighbourhood, a new two-form entry primary school will shape daily life, and the Victorian Gothic masterpiece, St Mark’s Church, will be secured as the home of the Brick Lane Music Hall and will act as the focal point of a new public square—St Mark’s Square.
Open, generous and human in scale
Landscape plays a defining role. Over 2.5 hectares of public space, including a new riverside park (Marmalade Park), provide a network of spaces for play, relaxation and movement. New pedestrian and cycle routes will extend the Thames Path and connect surrounding existing neighbourhoods to the riverfront for the first time in decades. Drawing on the character of the Thames, beach-like river edges and planted routes enhance biodiversity while offering moments of pause along the water’s edge.
The architecture references its industrial surroundings and legacy with pops of branding evocative of the riverside’s golden industrial era. Masonry and precast concrete reference neighbouring warehouses, with refined detailing and pastel balcony accents adding warmth and identity. Together, the buildings and spaces form an antidote to the industrial context—open, generous and human in scale.
Thames Road is more than redevelopment; it is a reconnection. A place where homes, jobs, learning and landscape come together to shape a resilient new community for East London’s riverside.
| Client | Ballymore | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | London | |||
| Size | Site area - 6.1 ha; Commercial – 10,000 sq m | |||
| Status | Planning approved | |||
| Homes | 1,685 homes | |||
| Awards | ||||
| Team |
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Zamira Bushaj | Will Downes |
