Shoreditch Works sets a benchmark for community-led regeneration, combining contextual design, workspace demand and community needs in a key conservation area.

Linea Properties Ltd was formed by the landowners for the development of the Shoreditch Works. The site was acquired over a period of five decades and the landowners’ long-term involvement in the area has influenced the design, provision of facilities and management strategies.

Shoreditch Works will provide social and economic benefits that flow into the wider area. A phased development will enable a reprovision strategy for existing commercial occupiers. Shoreditch Works transforms a collection of underutilised buildings into a thriving, regenerative business hub while respecting heritage, introducing public space, widening pavements and creating new pedestrian routes. The scheme provides more than 80,000m² of workspace and residential uses, alongside community use, artist studios, and research space.

This masterplan represents a significant shift in approach to development in London’s tech cluster. The design team has prioritised retaining and retrofitting existing structures where possible, while carefully integrating necessary newbuild elements to meet contemporary needs. The design acknowledges Shoreditch’s industrial heritage through materiality and form, new buildings use a contemporary language that references historic building patterns. The design team has worked to ensure that new elements enhance, the area’s historic character while delivering the increased density necessary for commercial viability.

A centrepiece of the development is the regenerative business hub, which aims to nurture local enterprises alongside established technology firms. The workspace has been designed with flexibility at its core, featuring a range of unit sizes, specifications, and rental price points to accommodate different business types and growth stages.

In response to the site’s prominent position within London’s tech cluster, the development increases density through strategic additions that respect the surrounding roofline and urban grain. Stepped rooftops ensures the scheme integrates with neighbouring properties, while roof gardens provide outdoor amenity space and improve biodiversity. The project’s community partnership approach has involved local and strategic groups in actively shaping both the physical design and operational strategy.

Shoreditch Works represents a growing awareness across the built environment professions that successful urban regeneration requires more than architectural intervention alone. By placing community partnership and regenerative principles at its heart, the scheme offers a template for sensitive development within historic urban contexts that seeks to benefit existing communities while meeting the demands of London’s evolving economy.