Historic Royal Palaces commissioned Feria Urbanism to provide an assessment of the issues affecting the quality of the streets and spaces around the Tower of London.

One of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, with up to 14,000 visitors at peak periods, the Tower of London is sits on the north bank of the River Thames, within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Its general layout established by the late 13th Century remains despite later activity on the site and is protected as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Working closely with Ben Hamilton-Baillie, we aimed to reveal some of the strategic and detailed issues affecting the quality of the setting of the Tower of London. A primary objective during the site assessments was the identification of specific areas where the movement of pedestrians towards the main entrance to the Tower is frustrated, unpleasant or inadequate. Our report also addressed the generally inhospitable quality of the streets and spaces adjacent to the Tower.

A series of draft sketch drawings were prepared after the initial site visits to capture the issues and to start to explore options for urban interventions followed by more refined, presentation versions.