FLEXIBLE GASHOLDER COMMUNITIES
by Chris Painter
Choice, I feel, is the most apt social offering in an age of pluralism. Having the option to alter housing mix with minor internal changes allows current and future stakeholders to inhabit or rent their space how best suits them. Housing is clustered within Victorian Gasholders retired from active service but fully re-assembled and painted in bold colours providing identity and hinting at the Olympic Legacy of the recent past. A threshold from dwelling to an open and overlooked street of neighbours is provided to all before descending down via the enclosed stair into the shared gardens at ground level. The recycled ground condition changes from off-white to coal black as you leave the gasholder and step foot onto the circular plaza where it once stood. Here you are bracketed by wild nature on one side and Gasworks Park on the other. The park has a pond of wildlife that centres a patchwork of wildgrass framed by paths guiding you to the River Lea Ecology Walk via Cody Dock or West Ham Station and the greater city beyond.
