Borough Yards

Borough Yards is a place that resonates with the blended work/play lives of modern urbanites. Located next to the historic Borough Market, the development of new retail streets, cultural galleries and commercial office space is urbane and welcom­ing.

SPPARC has created an architectural typology which started from the principle that there should be pedestrian lanes within the block linking the river to the market through a series of connecting yard spaces and streets weaved through an impressive Victorian brick arched railway viaduct.

The £300 million mixed-use development completed in 2021, and the retail offering is set to open to the public in 2022. The high-quality public realm restores and reinvents the lost medieval street pattern of the area.

Restoring and rejuvenating an important part of south London’s Victorian railway heritage, the project re-purposes 8,500sqm of existing railway arches. Our design weaves together historic fabric with contemporary architecture and new public spaces to open up the site to its Bankside context and bring new pedestrian permeability and amenities to the area.

The once divisive Victorian brick railway viaducts have been opened up to allow for pedestrian lanes. The scheme’s design engages with existing fabric and patterns of pedestrian movement to integrate new architecture and re-purposed structures into a complex urban context.

The arches have been opened up and transformed to create raw-brick cathedral-like spaces for a new retail environment, cultural spaces and gallery. A simple glass frontage with industrial scaled structure is recessed between each arch to allow a visual appreciation of each impressive Victorian span.

The project has seen the complete redevelopment of former wine-tasting venue Vinopolis and neighbouring sites fronting the pedestrian paths linking Tate Modern with Borough Market, the newly reconfigured London Bridge station and The Shard.

The retained façades of forgotten warehouses sensitively blend into the new Borough Yards district, providing elevations to two, six storey office buildings. Inspired by Victorian terraces bounding its Stoney Street site, the long elevation of the largest new building incorporates a series of folds that respond to the rhythm of the townscape whilst reaffirming the re-emergence of the location.

A strategic approach to design includes landscaping and street furniture for newly created public spaces and yards. Several historic local street names will be revived within Borough Yards, including Dirty Lane, Clink Yard and Soap Yard.