Bankside Yards

Bankside Yards is a transformative, 5.5-acre mixed-use masterplan located on London’s South Bank, situated strategically between the Tate Modern and Blackfriars Bridge. Designed by PLP Architecture for the developer Native Land, this £2.5 billion development is designed to reunite cultural areas of the city that have been separated by imposing railway infrastructure for over a century. The ambitious project encompasses multiple new buildings, delivering a world-class blend of prime riverside residential towers like Opus, next-generation office spaces such as the Arbor building, luxury hospitality, and diverse leisure and retail venues.

A central feature of the Bankside Yards design is the restoration of 14 Victorian railway arches, which are being opened to the public for the first time in 150 years to house new shops, restaurants, and performance spaces. This revitalized infrastructure introduces new pedestrian routes and a highly biodiverse public realm designed by Gillespies, creating seamless east-west connections, a vibrant urban square, and lush green spaces. Furthermore, the project sets a high benchmark for sustainability, designed to be the UK’s first major fossil fuel-free mixed-use development, operating on fully renewable electricity and utilising a pioneering fifth-generation energy-sharing network to achieve net-zero carbon operations.