VCI Property Holding Limited is bringing forward a new proposal for the Vauxhall Cross Island site adjacent to Vauxhall Station that provide a hotel and office-led scheme, alongside new residential and retail uses and improvements to the public realm. The proposals respond to Lambeth Council’s aspirations for a district centre at Vauxhall by providing a mix of employment-generating and active uses on Bondway, as well as a new public square accommodating Transport for London’s (TfL) emerging gyratory and bus station plans.
Vauxhall Cross Island
Vauxhall Cross Island site is located adjacent to Vauxhall Underground station and is bounded by Parry Street (to the south), Bondway (to the east) and Wandsworth Road / Albert Embankment (to the west and north). The Island lies in a central and important location, adjacent to existing transport links at the gateway to Vauxhall from the north. The site is within the Vauxhall/Nine Elms/Battersea Opportunity Area, identified in the London Plan as having the potential to accommodate high-density development to provide substantial numbers of new jobs and homes.
Vauxhall is undergoing a period of transformation with a number of other significant developments under construction or planned for the area. In part, this is due to the Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) which allows for tall buildings of high quality to form a cluster around Vauxhall Cross, and also the Vauxhall Supplementary Planning Document, which sets out Lambeth Council’s vision for the regeneration of Vauxhall to create a thriving district centre.
Alongside this guidance, TfL is reviewing its proposals to alter the Vauxhall bus station and gyratory and has recently submitted new plans to Lambeth Council.
An employment-led scheme
• A new 500+ room hotel
• Approximately 260 new homes, including a mix of private and affordable
• Approximately 220,000 sq ft of office accommodation
• Approximately 7,000 sq ft of shopping/dining at street level.
Through the hotel, office and retail, the proposed scheme is estimated to create approximately 2,000 jobs, comprising:
• Est. 1,450 office jobs
• Est. 500 hotel jobs
• Est. 50 jobs from retail and building management
A new gateway for Vauxhall
The buildings proposed for Vauxhall Cross respond to the emergence of the cluster of tall buildings proposed to the south of the site and have been designed to work with the other buildings, through its rectilinear form, grid-based façade and materials.
Their arrangement places the taller building to the south of the site, adjacent to the other tall buildings and the centre of the cluster. Joining the two buildings with a ‘podium’ building of 10 storeys helps to create more defined street edges to the north, west and south of the island site and frames the new public square.
Opening up the public realm
The proposal provides a new public square and coordinates with the TfL gyratory and bus station scheme to accommodate new street-level pedestrian crossings and wider pavements, providing improved pedestrian environment and experience; helping to create a safer and more legible streetscape, accommodating increased pedestrian activity between Vauxhall Station and Nine Elms.
Creating a new public square
The new square creates a generous public space next to the primary pedestrian route from the Vauxhall Station to the south and adjacent to TfL’s new bus stops located on Bondway, giving an opportunity for the square to host a programme of popular community events and activities throughout the year, from markets to street entertainment and performances. We want to work with the community to identify how the square can be used to provide the greatest benefit to Vauxhall and what types of activities or events can be held here. Source by Zaha Hadid Architects.
- Location: Vauxhall Cross Island, London, UK
- Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
- Engineering: Buro Happold
- Landscape Architects: Townshend Landscape Architects
- Site Owner and Developer: VCI Property Holding Limited
- Development Manager: Great Marlborough Estates
- Development Consultant: Dais
- Year: 2018
- Images: Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects