On Tuesday we explored a few areas of London that we hadn't been to before, one of which is where East London meets the Thames at the Isle of Dogs.
We started in a relatively new area of London, Canary Wharf on the northern boundary of the Isle of Dogs. The redevelopment of Canary Wharf started in the mid-eighties and was intended to reinvigorate an area that consisted almost exclusively of abandoned and derelict docklands made redundant throughout the sixties and seventies. It is now one of the largest business centres in London.
When you emerge from Canary Wharf Underground you pop up right in the middle of the business centre with an amazing view of a DLR (Docklands Light Rail) bridge spanning the canals and weaving between the shiny new skyscrapers.
We started in a relatively new area of London, Canary Wharf on the northern boundary of the Isle of Dogs. The redevelopment of Canary Wharf started in the mid-eighties and was intended to reinvigorate an area that consisted almost exclusively of abandoned and derelict docklands made redundant throughout the sixties and seventies. It is now one of the largest business centres in London.
When you emerge from Canary Wharf Underground you pop up right in the middle of the business centre with an amazing view of a DLR (Docklands Light Rail) bridge spanning the canals and weaving between the shiny new skyscrapers.
Everything in Canary Wharf feels new. It's clean and shiny, nearly every person is wearing a business suit, and the long line of Mercedes', BMWs and Audis are randomly swab-tested for narcotics before entering the area. In other words it feels bleak and lifeless.
But as you walk away from Canary Wharf you begin to see that the entirety of the Isle of Dogs hasn't been sterilised of it's industrial heritage as it has in the business centre. Where the canals in the centre are lined with wood, ornate painted steel balustrades, cafes and wine bars; the canals outside still retain the look of heavy-duty waterways designed for working ships and working men. Moss-stained green concrete, rusted chains and heavy iron moorings.
But as you walk away from Canary Wharf you begin to see that the entirety of the Isle of Dogs hasn't been sterilised of it's industrial heritage as it has in the business centre. Where the canals in the centre are lined with wood, ornate painted steel balustrades, cafes and wine bars; the canals outside still retain the look of heavy-duty waterways designed for working ships and working men. Moss-stained green concrete, rusted chains and heavy iron moorings.
Much of the old worker's housing remains and several of the docks have been gated and equipped for houseboat mooring. The housing needs of the corporate drones has been appeased in the form of dock offices and warehouses converted into studio apartments.
The overall effect is that the Isle of Dogs possesses a charm and character that I haven't encountered anywhere else in London. There's the amazing collision of new and old between the historical industrial infrastructure and the stark sterility of canary wharf; but there's also the meeting of the remaining working class as they linger in a home that is increasingly becoming the property of banks, major corporations and their business class employees.