Design Advisory

Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation

The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), established by the Mayor of London to secure the regeneration of the Old Oak Opportunity area, spanning land in three London boroughs – Ealing, Brent, and Hammersmith & Fulham.

OPDC’s Local Plan has recently been adopted, setting out the development framework the area and as a member of the design review panel I have been responsible for the review of several projects, notably high rise housing schemes that include a range of tenures including student accommodation. The project illustrated is a scheme that received planning approval after a review by the panel. It is a new building typology, known as ‘Dark Kitchens’. This building comprises of 12 stories of rentable kitchens and is operational throughout the day and night. Strategically located next to the A40, the kitchens prepare food for restaurants throughout London. The building was designed by Dowen Farmer Architects.

“Harbinder Birdi has been a long-standing member of several design review panels managed by Frame Projects. He brings to these conversations his many years of experience leading the design teams for large scale infrastructure projects. These projects are highly complex, technically challenging, and require the bringing together of many different stakeholder requirements. Harbinder’s understanding of how to navigate these design challenges, without losing touch with human experience is quite unique.”
– Deborah Denner
Director, Frame Projects