02.1 New Build — Regent's Canal, Camden

An Urban Winery

MArch thesis — a new urban winery on Regent's Canal in Camden, accompanied by a thesis on architectural longevity.

Canal-side elevation of the urban winery along Regent's Canal — Canal-side elevation, Regent's Canal

A canal-side destination

The project proposes an urban winery along Regent's Canal in Camden, transforming an underutilised industrial storage site into a public and community-focused destination. Positioned within a densely hardscaped context, the scheme aims to reconnect the site with the surrounding area through generous public space, integrated planting, sheltered circulation, and a publicly accessible wine terrace.

Alongside the winery programme, the proposal incorporates experience days, tasting events, and opportunities for community engagement — encouraging interaction between production, visitors, and the surrounding neighbourhood.

Designing for longevity

The building was developed alongside a wider thesis exploring architecture designed with longevity in mind. Rather than approaching sustainability through short building lifecycles and eventual material reuse alone, the proposal challenges the culture of planned obsolescence within contemporary construction. The scheme accepts a higher initial embodied-carbon investment than some conventional approaches in order to endure — physically, spatially, and socially — over time.

Large-span, adaptable internal spaces allow the building to be easily re-inhabited, subdivided, or repurposed long after its function as a winery may no longer be viable. The architecture therefore prioritises permanence, flexibility and long-term civic value — a building capable of evolving with future needs instead of being demolished and replaced.

Fig. Site, drawings & model

Physical site model showing the proposal as small grey blocks set into the existing Camden urban fabric beside the canal — Site model — the proposal in the existing Camden fabric

Environmental axonometric showing the building set within Camden — Building as an environment — site axonometric

Ground floor plan showing the winery, public terrace and canal-side spaces — Ground floor plan — winery, terrace and public spaces

Long section through the site showing the new winery alongside the existing industrial buildings with their sawtooth roofs, plus a forklift and people for scale — Long section — the winery beside its sawtooth-roofed neighbours

Construction section showing the long-span timber truss and the interior wine production area — Construction section — long-span timber truss and tectonic detail