Thames Tideway Tunnel: delivering a place legacy

The ambition of the Thames Tideway Tunnel project was to produce a sustainable legacy, set new industry standards in collaborative design for future projects and deliver world-class public realm. The project team set out a legacy programme organised in five themes, with 54 measurable commitments that were embedded into its construction contracts. Tideway sought to embed these principles in the culture of the project, creating their vision statement – to reconnect London with the River Thames. This paper concentrates on placemaking. It describes how the vision of providing a legacy of high-quality, inclusive public realm was delivered, and the engineering and environmental opportunities and challenges of designing in a major river estuary. It describes how the project team engaged with artists to involve communities and enrich the design of public realm with commissions that relate to narratives around the history of the civic importance of London’s sewerage system and the River Thames. It also describes how Tideway’s place legacy was delivered through a community investment programme that supported local organisations along the tunnel’s route and was underpinned by long-term partnerships to engage Londoners in leisure, environment and heritage activities on or near the river.