Design process
The reservoir was made redundant following the construction of the new London Ring Main, and a local action group was established to seek community benefit from the site. Thames Water agreed to release the West Reservoir and the New River to the London Borough of Hackney for recreational and educational purposes. Prior to this, children from Hackney schools received water sports instruction in the Lee Valley.
Personnel who had run the courses were enlisted to formulate the brief. This was to convert the listed building into a watersports and environmental centre with a simple design that celebrated the building's original purpose while adding contemporary facilities for its new functions.
The architects were appointed following an expression of interest and competitive interview process, with their design of an award-winning watersports centre in Liverpool's docks a factor in their selection.
The scheme design was presented to the public and Hackney Councillors in December 1996. The local community was consulted at every stage of the project through local authority networks and the action group that had helped save the reservoir for community use.
As the required accommodation could not be fitted into the existing space at ground level, various options were developed, including using the basements, the tower and total demolition. Discussion between the client, future management team, borough education officer, school children and the design team resolved that the tower should be retained.
The second decision was to replace the existing wings with enlarged wings to accommodate the remaining requirements (apart from boat storage).
The architects worked closely with Hackney Arts to select and involve an artist to contribute a public art dimension.
As the watersports organisation had to vacate their Lee Valley site, they needed temporary accommodation on the West Reservoir site before full funding was in place. Thus the project was developed in two stages. The first phase included works to the mains services and some pontoons.
