黑洞社区

Architect Broadway Malyan has been chosen to design more than 1,500 homes for the final phase of the Greenwich Millennium Village (GMV) in south-east London.

All of the remaining 1,650 units, more than half the total of 2,750, will be designed by the architect under the guidance of the original masterplanner, the late Ralph Erskine鈥檚 Tovatt Architects + Planners.

Other consultants on the team are structural Whitbybird, services engineer Hoare Lee and quantity surveyor WT Partnership.

Jayne Lomas, the senior regeneration manager at English Partnerships, said the final phase would have to meet tougher environmental standards. She said: 鈥淲hen the original standards were set, the 黑洞社区 Regulations were a different animal. Now the 2006 黑洞社区 Regulations are quite stringent and we need to keep ahead of the game.鈥�

GMV was the first millennium village to be identified and has acted as a blueprint for other high-density developments. The housing scheme is the most highly rated out of all those audited by Cabe over the past three years.

The rest of industry will be bound to pay attention to what Broadway Malyan does

One architectural observer pointed out that Broadway Malyan鈥檚 designs for GMV could have repercussions for future housing design.

The source said: 鈥淏roadway Malyan will be designing a large number of units on a high-profile scheme. The rest of industry and the public will be bound to pay attention to how it goes about it.鈥�

The practice was in the news in 2005 after John Prescott declined to call in its Vauxhall towers scheme in London.

鈥� One of Ralph Erskine鈥檚 most famous housing developments in the UK, the Byker Estate in Newcastle, has been granted grade II*-listed status.