As part of the urban planning master's design studio “London Calling – Revisiting Thamesmead Estate”, we travelled to London with the students for a four-day excursion in spring 2024. We looked at a variety of urban planning and architectural projects and were inspired by exciting guided tours and lectures.

At the beginning of this excursion, we first had to explore the Thamesmead planning area in south-west London. With the support of the housing association Peabody, we were given a comprehensive insight into the history and future plans for the area. A subsequent tour of the existing and new buildings provided a deeper insight into the area.

In order to better place the brutalist Thamesmead estate in its historical context, we visited a number of modern urban and housing development projects in London over the following days. These included the Barbican Estate, Golden Lane Estate, Balfron Tower, Whittington Estate, Southbank Centre and Brunswick Centre. But restructured and redensified estates such as Robin Hood Gardens, Agar Grove Estate, Maiden Lane Estate, and Kiln Place also stimulated critical discussions.

An additional look at contemporary urban development projects, such as the Kings Cross development area, the Design District in Greenwich or the developments around the Olympic Park and Hackney Wick in east London, rounded off the excursion. A visit to the award-winning architecture firm Haworth Tompkins Architects gave us an exciting insight into their work and the challenges of dealing with existing structures in today's context.

The four days in London thus provided us with valuable insights into London's urban history and contemporary transformation and an inspiring basis for the development of sensitive yet future-oriented urban designs for Thamesmead.

You can find a detailed excursion report here (German):

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