New Elizabeth House plans to include resi

The developers behind Elizabeth House on York Road, Waterloo have released plans for this strategic site in SE1, close to the South Bank. The Elizabeth House Limited Partnership (EHLP), a joint venture between Chelsfield Partners and London and Regional Properties will provide 136 residential units across the top 7 floors as well as 100,000sqm of offices. This comes after the previous controversial plans, dubbed the three ugly sisters were refused at a public enquiry. English Heritage and Westminster council claimed that the plans would have an unacceptable effect on views of Parliament Square, which Communities secretary John Denham agreed with. These are the old plans by P&O, which were thrown out.

and this is what David Chipperfield architects have now come up with.

If I'm being honest I probably prefer the previous plans, however the new scheme does have some good points. Firstly, it's mixed use, including a substantial amount of residential space.

Another is public realm, which looks to be far superior, including new piazzas and a greatly improved link between Waterloo Station, Jubilee Gardens and the River frontage.

This link has a great deal of information on the new scheme, showing the gradual 'dumbing down', within the design evolution. Still, it will be a great improvement on the buildings that currently preside on this site.