DOCKLAND REGENERATION R


epresenting a prime stretch of waterfront land on London’s Thames, the Royal Docks


were once the largest of their kind in the world, attracting trade from every corner of the globe. With the changing structure of industry, the second half of the 20th century saw the area fall into decline. While the Crystal is seen as a flagship for green investment in the area, the opening of the Emirates Air Line cable car may well provide a catalyst for leisure development in an otherwise business-based location. In July 2011, Newham Council resolved


to grant planning permission in principle, subject to certain criteria being met, to Studio Egret West for a floating village that would include restaurants, a boat bar, a boat café, swimming pool, wakeboard centre, boardwalk and garden. Councillor Conor McAuley,


executive member for regeneration at Newham Council, says: “The council is continuing to work with the land owners and other partners on best uses of the water and dock edges to make the Royal Docks a top destination for residents, businesses and tourists."


The Emirates Air Line opened in time for the Olympics


the glazing (the building has achieved an excellent average of 1 U value) and insulated roof keep the interior at an optimum temperature. “Many peo- ple wrongly assume that glass is not a good insulating material,” he says. “Actually it’s usually the mechanisms used to join the panels of glass where most heat loss happens – and so this is something that we've worked on.” One area of the exhibition focuses on the importance of water as a pre- cious and finite resource, and the ability to conserve it and recycle it is practically exhibited within the build- ing itself. The Crystal is one of the few public buildings to recycle rainwater, treat it, and use it for drinking water. The building also has an impressive blackwater recycling plant under- ground, where 100 per cent of the building’s waste water is recycled for toilet flushing and irrigating the land- scaping. A smart irrigation system can detect moisture levels in the soil and adjust watering levels as needed. According to Ricard, black water recy- cling is usually something that is undertaken on the scale of a borough, not commonly for a single building.


Eco EntErtainmEnt The exhibition space is a very exten- sive stroll through green issues. To begin with, visitors enter a cinema pod where they watch a series of three short films, which offer some stark statistics and striking imagery on the themes of demographic change, urban- isation and climate change.


ISSUE 1 2013 © cybertrek 2013


"One of the reasons for building this is to show people that it's possible to create a sustainable building that's also a pleasant place to be"


Interactive exhibits help deliver the message to visitors


To follow are eight attraction


zones, covering areas such as Smart Buildings, highlighting the inefficiency of most buildings and how that can be addressed; Safe and Sound, which examines security issues in cities; and Healthy Life, which looks at the strain a growing and ageing population is putting on healthcare systems. The topics may be sobering, but the space has been made interactive and fun, with a Tesla coil in the ‘Go Electric’ area, where visitors can cre- ate a lightning streak of electricity by moving their bodies. Another exhibit in the ‘Creating Cities’ space (reportedly much favoured by London Mayor Boris Johnson when he visited) allows visi- tors to be the mayor of a city and work with other ‘city experts’ to make deci- sions on how an imaginary city works.


Denig says: “Visitors often com- pliment us on how interactive the exhibition is and say they find it thought-provoking, which is great.” A bespoke card system also means the exhibits can deliver information on two levels – one for general visitors and the other for visiting experts. “One of the biggest challenges


we had to overcome was making sure we successfully addressed a very broad, diverse range of audiences with the content of the exhibition. “We hope we have achieved this with content that is fun and rele- vant for school children, linked to the national curriculum, but also more detailed case studies and research of interest to city experts.”


For any operators looking to build a highly sustainable building, a fact-find- ing mission to the Crystal would be a very good start.


As Denig says: "One of the reasons for building this is to show people that it's possible to create a sustainable building with all the latest technology that is also a pleasant place to be.” l


Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 65


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