The Requirement
The Royal Arsenal at Woolwich started life in 1696 as a small site for the manufacture of fireworks. The manufacture of arms soon commenced and by 1907 the site stretched for three miles along the Thames. It reached its peak of production during the First World War, when it employed close to 80,000 people. In 1984 the MOD finally left the site which is now a mixed use redeveloped site with parts of the Royal Arsenal used to build residential and commercial buildings.
Design work to enhance some of walkways surrounding the site included large circular planting beds constructed from mild steel panels. The designers wanted a rusted industrial look, appropriate for this historic industrial site.