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A village of barges similar to the water community of the Seine could be created in Docklands.
Summer concerts will be held on the decks and a complex of floating apartments, restaurants, cafés, a nightclub, hotel, bars, shops and offices will be built on the barges at South Quay.
Architecture firms Baca and PCKO want to imitate the French river's barge tradition, but with extra height for multi-storey offices and shops. Baca director Richard Coutts said: "The five barges are set to reintroduce something exotic to Docklands. You will be able to step off the dockside through tall gateways, sheltered decks and floating platforms on to a range of colourful barges."
Reader views (5)
There is already a 'water community' in Docklands and it is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Poplar Dock Marina consists of a pretty exotic and colourful mix of people and boats. We have tiny narrow boats and powerful icebreakers, Humber keels and Dutch barges. On the people front there are film makers and dog walkers, the titled and the unemployed, students and brain surgeons, nurses and bankers,singles and families. It is a community that has grown and thrives.This new development has been manufactured by people whose prime motivation is not the true heritage of those glorious old barges or a new sense of community. If they had a true feeling for this area they would already know about the boat dwellers that live in Poplar, Blackwall and Millwall docks and not pretend that they invented the idea of living aboard.
- Heather,, London, 05/06/2009 15:36
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I currently live on a barge in the Docklands.
The people at Seine created their own community and the area has evolved organically into what it is today.
You can't prefab a place into existence and hope the atmosphere will be there when its finished.
Good luck to them though.
- Furkan, London, 05/06/2009 09:11
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The Seine community is authentic and involves real people living real lives not manufactured by spin and artifice. These 'architects' [profiteers?] should do their research.
- Michael C, London uk, 04/06/2009 16:29
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"Multi-storey offices and shops" - in other words, more tower blocks destroying views across London. When will this obsession with turning London into New York end?
- Mike, London, 04/06/2009 10:01
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Are the ecologists predicting that London is going to be under water due to the melting ice caps sooner rather than later then?!
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 04/06/2009 09:24
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