Ground
One of the main issues I had with my original proposal for the cruise terminal was the relation it had to the ground among other things, as you can see from the original interior view above. Not helped by the fact the building looked like a space ship, it looked like it had landed from outer space. So I went back to the site to clarify some basic things I want to achieve in relating the terminal to the site and vice versa. These are some of the points.
-Revitilise the rivers edge by linking it back to the city fabric through the Millennium Dome and the North Greenwich tube and bus station.
-Given the current closed situation of the site, open both sides of the site up and create a visual and physical link from the city fabric to the rivers edge by means of open space.
-Use the terminal to mediate the link between the city and the river by using the groundscape to penetrate through the terminal and above it so it does not become a physical or visual obstruction to the river.
-Raise the existing Thames path above ground level onto the terminal roof to form part of the garden plaza, as part of the existing path may need to be used as the apron.
-Have the garden plaza accessible without entering the terminal thereby adding something to the urban fabric.
-Push the terminal out to the low tide water mark, so cruise ship can dock directly with the terminal, given the ship a low tide water depth of 5.6m.
-Leave the Blackwall tunnel entrance and exit, taking into careful consideration their impact on the site.
