When London architects Studio Partington asked me to photograph these infills in Camberwell and Bermondsey it was interesting to hear how important the surrounding communities were with regard to how they wanted the architecture represented in the photos. This informed how I photographed the projects and got me thinking about the relevance of these infill designs in an urban planning and uk housing context.
Architects’ innovative infill designs are being seen more throughout city centres and continue to make the most of inner city plots by building multi use projects which have a positive effect on the surrounding communities.
The suburban and commuter towns around London have been increasingly built up with new developments and the available land for new buildings is becoming scarce. Along with this, the rising costs and distance for commuting are an incentive for people to stay in the inner city.
A solution for the problem has been to reuse empty non residential plots in the city. This ‘land-recycling’ not only works as an alternative and remedy to the ever increasing urban sprawl but actually contributes to the redevelopment of communities within city centres. Infill’s provide housing, shops and workplaces on a smaller footprint than traditional housing. I look forward to seeing this same mixed use infill design being used more in city and town centres across the uk.
