London under assault from 'faceless' towers, Prince's charity warns

London under assault from 'faceless' towers, Prince's charity warns

London under assault from 'faceless' towers, Prince's charity warns

27 March 2014 by Jamie Carpenter / http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1287510/london-assault-faceless-towers-princes-charity-warns

'Faceless' residential towers and 'poorly conceived mega-schemes' are placing London's historic architectural and urban identity under increasing threat, according to a report by the Prince of Wales' sustainable development charity.

The study, published today by the Prince's Foundation for Building Community, warns that London is facing "acute" housing shortages of both quality and quantity which "threaten the vitality of the city".

According to the report, poor design quality is threatening the vitality and vibrancy of London's streets and neighbourhoods, eroding street life and undermining the creation of "strong, harmonious and enduring communities".

The majority of new housing provision serves only those in the highest earning bracket, the report says, "forcing many Londoners to live within a built environment that neither supports their needs nor promotes their wellbeing".

The capital's new high-rise buildings are "glittering towers of exclusivity and luxury living, out of the reach of the average Londoners, and unsuitable to the needs of many households", the report says. 

"New development in London risks perpetuating ghettoisation, carving out more and more areas of the city which cater only to higher income residents," it adds.

The report suggests a new focus on mid-rise development. It says that enduring popularity and desirability of London’s Sloane Square, Mayfair and Notting Hill neighbourhoods "speaks to the strengths of mid-rise as a form".

London’s historical mid-rise buildings, "with their strong relationship to the street and popularity with residents, should be re-imagined and re-asserted as a housing type in the city", the report recommends.

The mansion block form, along with converted Victorian and Georgian mid-rise houses, "exhibit many of the strengths of well-designed mid-rise residential buildings and promote the type of walkable, sustainable urbanism that London needs as it looks to solve its housing problems" the report says.