—
Transformational ultra-urban industrial and logistics scheme
This 4.7 acre ultra-urban industrial and logistics scheme in Bromley-by-Bow for client Fabrix will regenerate one of the most centrally-located, undeveloped large-scale Strategic Industrial locations in London, providing 12,500sqm of best-in-class, future-proofed, sustainable industrial space. The former cement works site in Tower Hamlets is located adjacent to Limehouse Cut and the A12, providing links into Canary Wharf, the City, Stratford and the Olympic Park and wider east London. The vision was to set a new standard for how vital urban logistics can be integrated within the urban fabric and be a positive neighbour to both adjacent industrial estates and residential communities.
The scheme has been designed with a range of unit sizes to attract a diverse mix of industrial and logistics users, ranging from the warehousing, logistics, light manufacture and last mile delivery, critical to servicing the needs of the capital, through to innovative and emerging technological industries such as food production, labs, 3-D printing, robotics and studios.
Two linear terraces of 800-1000sqm warehouse units face into a shared, central vehicle yard with loading bays either side providing servicing access via roller shutters. The units are portal-framed structures, giving large column-free spans, with 14m eaves height allowing space for high bay racking and the flexibility to insert 1 or 2 internal mezzanine floors. 10% of the total floor area is provided as affordable workspace, subdivided into smaller units, to house a cluster of SME industrial businesses. In addition, a new 150sqm Circular Economy Hub (CEH) is provided within a refurbished brick warehouse at the site entrance, providing space for businesses carrying out the collection, processing, and exchange of materials, alongside pioneering new reuse processes.
Fabrix is working in partnership with the Hackney Wick Fish Island Community Development Trust on the operation of the CEH, drawing on the local social enterprise’s working experience of similar initiatives including the Textile Reuse Hub in Fish Island and The Loop in Hackney Wick with UCL.
Simple, efficient forms are wrapped in black metal cladding with subtle textural variation, overlaid with bold super-graphics to create a machined, contemporary aesthetic, delivering visual impact on a lean industrial development budget. A low-carbon frame in reclaimed steel or timber hybrid is proposed, which, alongside new trees and planting, SUDS landscape features, rooftop PVs, affordable workspace and circular economy hub, will create an exemplar sustainable industrial estate. The scheme was granted planning consent in September 2024 and we are looking forward to working with Fabrix and the team to deliver an innovative example of industrial-led regeneration.
