The Lea Valley has historically been defined by the interplay between nature and industry and the landscape around the ‘island’ site is a scene of competing infrastructures and multiple ground planes. Two new bridges therefore play a fundamental role in our proposal by connecting the wider context to a dominant singular plane – a common ground – that runs throughout the site providing access routes for visitors, commuters and residents.

The proposal encourages the institutions to harness the productive creativity of East London with spaces that foster experimentation and interaction. Although the volume and materiality of each building is driven by its own architectural idea, they each share a party wall which unifies the programmatic diversity of the complex and maximises footprints. To assist the merging of public space with institutional activity, the organisation and internal courtyard spaces of the buildings generates a rich variety of interconnected public and semi-public spaces.