YEAR:                 

 

2014-2015 [MArch 2 sem.]

 

 

LOCATION:

 

Hackney Wick
[London, UK]

 

 

A prominent feature within this design which was developed as a part of the research of the age-friendly agenda is the elevated walkway that traverses the center of the site. This part of the project appearing to be a revival of the now discredited pedwalks of the 1960s is an attempt to show that the use of well-considered details can change a lot. I believe that the seemingly radical idea of the elevated walkway has a lot of positive affordances for older people and with some alterations can become an important part of an age-friendly city.

 

In Hackney Wick a roofscape pathway makes it possible to create a  direct route from the station to the two neighboring parks. Instead of creating a new level, this  pathway actually connects levels which already exist - an overground railway level and two pedestrian bridges which link the site with the parks. Thus, now instead of going down from the station and then up to the bridges, there is a straight route which goes in the same level nearly all the way.

 

There is also an additional route around the square which affords  spectacular views of the great variety of the pitched roofs of the listed buildings, one of the main distinctive features of Hackney Wick.  Moreover from  this level one can see nearly all the landmarks of the site which helps in orientating oneself in the space and makes the route legible. Legibility, is another thing that was usually seen as a problem in case of elevated walkways. But the example of Hackney Wick can show that the streets in the sky in certain circumstances are even more legible than on the ground level. In Hackney Wick, the old houses of the site are low with roofs mostly just in the level of the railway, therefore the pathway goes on top of them, they don’t block the view and only some certain buildings rise above the route becoming the key objects which help in orientating in space.