On Tuesday 15 September, Open City’s Open House Festival came to Bankside Yards. A free-to-enter architectural talk explored the layers of history that have shaped Bankside Yards, alongside the ambition driving its future.

For over 150 years, the railway arches around Bankside Yards remained closed to the public. Set within Arch 10, this talk brought together a trio of expert speakers who examined the relationship between heritage, regeneration and placemaking, looking at how a long-concealed piece of Victorian infrastructure has been reopened and reinterpreted as part of Native Land’s 5.5 acre transformation of Bankside Yards. Speakers also reflected on what the project means for the future of the entire Bankside area as a place for culture, work, homes and everyday public life.

The evening was part of a wider programme of Open House Festival talks, which each year opens buildings and sites not normally accessible to the public. Bankside Yards’ inclusion highlights its growing importance and the role it has to play in shaping the future of London, transforming a lost city intersection on the South Bank of the Thames, bringing forward eight buildings and reconnecting the cultural walkway between Royal Festival Hall and the Tate Modern.

Chaired by Leanne Tritton, Hon FRIBA, Chair of The London Society, the discussion brought together Nicholas Gray, Executive Director at Native Land; Lee Polisano, Founding Partner of PLP Architecture; and architectural historian Lucy Denton, each offering a distinct vantage point on the site’s past, present and future,  from the realities of restoring a Victorian structure to the design thinking shaping what comes next.

Thank you to our speakers and everyone who joined us for such an insightful evening of conversation and reflection.