Silvertown Vision Centre

We created a Vision Centre on site, in the 1960s Silver Building. Left empty for a number of years, the building had recently been repurposed as ‘meanwhile use’ – affordable work space for creative enterprises, start-ups and local businesses in buildings earmarked for development.

A large part of the building had become completely dilapidated, but we immediately saw that its open plan floorspace and large windows would make it the ideal location for the Vision Centre – another form of meanwhile use for the building. Working to a very tight schedule, we transformed it into a bright and welcoming public space.

The exhibition features large scale boards that tell the story of Silvertown and outline the plans for the new development. We also produced a film sharing personal memories of life in the Royal Docks, and a media table, set on a carefully restored draughtsman’s drawing board.

It receives regular visits from local schools, and plans are being made to involve pupils who are studying history and geography, are taking part in volunteer projects, or who have an interest in science, technology, maths and engineering.

Keystone London was overwhelmed by the quality of the work we produced, enabling them to confidently engage with local communities and stakeholders both in the private and public sectors.