The Tide | Diller Scofidio + Renfro

The Tide will be a 5-kilometre network of public spaces and gardens embedded into the daily rhythms of Greenwich Peninsula. Both an elevated and at-grade walkway, with programming split across both levels, The Tide activates spaces above and below to provide a layered network of recreation, culture, and wellness. The Tide will stitch together diverse ecosystems, emerging neighbourhoods, and distinct cultural institutions, connecting north to south, east to west, centre to periphery, and city to river. The Tide is both fast and slow. It is simultaneously a running track, a walking promenade, a series of quiet gardens, and a network of social and cultural hubs.

The Tide is conceived of as a series of elevated, landscaped islands where the public is invited to slow down, linger, and overlook the life of the Peninsula. Each island is distinct, defined by unique trees and planting, and by their surrounding views and sounds. These elevated gardens are designed as clusters of structural supports that create elevated planter beds, containing soil and channelling both gravity loads and water down to the ground. The sculptural structure supporting The Tide gardens above also frames and shelters the path below, creating arched pavilions that mark thresholds and passages at the ground level public realm.
Opening July 5, 2019, the first phase of the project will be 1 kilometre long, and will feature a linear public walkway, elevated gardens, pocket cafes, and an architectural promontory overlooking the Thames River.

Location
Greenwich Peninsula is located in south-east London near Canary Wharf, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and is bound on three sides by a loop of the Thames River. A former industrial site with a rich history, it is an area quickly transforming. Although known mostly as the site of the O2 Arena today, it is an evolving community with plans for 15,000 new homes, a design district, and a large central park.

Owner
Knight Dragon

Design Team
Diller Scofidio + Renfro (Lead) in collaboration with Neiheiser Argyros

Milestones
September 2015 - Knight Dragon commissioned Diller Scofidio + Renfro to design a public space strategy integrated into the planned development of Greenwich Peninsula.
January 2016 - The masterplan by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Neiheiser Argyros is submitted, proposing a new concept for a 5km linear park that connects the cultural and social attractions across the peninsula.
May 2016 - Based on a phased approach, the design team begins to develop the first segment of the park along the eastern waterfront that connects inland to the Peninsula Plaza. Gross Max (landscape design) and AKTII (structure) and AECOM (mechanical systems) join the design team.
July 2017 - Planning permission from the Royal Borough of Greenwich of Greater London is granted for the elevated portion of Phase 1 of the Tide.
January 2018 - Steel Fabrication by Cimolai begins in Italy.
June 2018 - Planning permission from the Royal Borough of Greenwich of Greater London is granted for the at-grade waterfront portion of Phase 1 of The Tide.

September 2018 - First steel sub-islands arrive on site, having travelled by sea from Italy, and up the Thames.
March 2019 - Installation of the steel sub-islands and links is completed.
April 2019 - Landscaping for the project is completed.
July 2019 - Phase 1 of The Tide opens to the public.
August 2019 Design work to begin on future phases of The Tide.