Knight’s Hill Square Regeneration, West Norwood

Mark Fairhurst Architect is involved with designing an exciting new development in the Key Industrial Business Area (KIBA) in West Norwood. It consists of the redevelopment of the Portico Gallery, 1 and 3 Knights Hill Square and 8 Beadman Street. The Portico Gallery was a former Public Hall and currently hosts a range of activities such as yoga, life drawing, pottery, martial arts, public performances and meetings. With the cultural hub in the area beginning to emerge, this proposal seeks to ‘weed and grow’ this cluster and further develop the KIBA as the area’s main employment hub. With the recent weakening of employment performance in recent years, this proposal aims to revive and strengthen its position as the largest KIBA within Lambeth.

Several strategies have been proposed, looking at regeneration projects such as the Deptford Market Yard, and Wickside Development as precedents.

A variety of potential uses have been proposed for the site including the following:
• Class A comprising of pop-up retail, restaurants, and cafés,
• Class B consists of small and medium sized business workspaces such as office hubs, shared office space etc.,
• Class C would consist of complimentary new residential units proposed in association with the increment of employment on the site and
• Class D1 would involve the improvement of community facilities with a new public space to be linked to the new uses.

These layers of programme and multi-purpose use would provide facilities that would encourage the growth of business, use of public space, safeguard and invigorate community facilities potentially creating a thriving hub in West Norwood.