The proposal is located at the eastern boundary of the London Borough of Southwark, in an area that was primarily agricultural until the 19th century, but with the construction of the South Metropolitan Gasworks in 1833 industry prevailed, with this typology still extensive in the area today. The Site today sits on the northern edge of a townscape area defined by the architectures of light industrial sheds, small scale on-site offices, haulage and parking yards, and big-box stores.

Ilderton Wharf comprises three distinct blocks, a collection of 24, 20, 12 and 10 storeys blocks, plus a 3-storey unit above a double height garden podium, which hopes to create a new dynamic and layered urban corner. Arranged as a PBSA tower, affordable block with garden podium and industrial unit also combined, which together as a composition seek to improve the public realm to the corner of Surrey Canal Road and Ilderton Road. With a more activated frontage at street level, it would also provide a publicly accessible café and social lobby. The proposal is defined by its architectural expression, using either vertical or horizontal gridded approaches to define use and mass, whilst a consistent material palette links the blocks together. At ground level, the addition of a community garden, will link the building’s green strategy to Pat Hickson Gardens to its immediate north.