John Robertson Architects has retrofitted an underutilised ExCeL car park into flexible event space and public realm.
Immerse LDN, a new cultural venue carved from the former car park beneath East London’s ExCeL Centre, is the latest adaptive reuse project by John Robertson Architects (JRA), specialists in commercial retrofit. Transforming an underused stretch of dockside infrastructure, the project delivers a series of flexible event spaces, wired for immersive exhibitions and live events, alongside a carefully reimagined dockside public realm.
The project forms part of the wider regeneration of the Royal Docks and aligns with the London Borough of Newham’s Royal Docks 5 Year Plan, which aims to revitalise local infrastructure and deliver more accessible, inclusive, and engaging civic spaces for both residents and visitors. Working with the existing structure, JRA stripped the former car park back to its shell, establishing four flexible units purpose-built to accommodate immersive exhibitions and temporary cultural events.
The design delivers tenant-ready CAT A space with generous ceiling heights and expansive sightlines, creating a contemporary shell suited to high footfall and fast-changing programmes. Externally, JRA has reimagined the formerly utilitarian Thames-facing façade—once a blank perimeter wall as a textured, biophilic and welcoming new elevation.Brick arches and pre-cast glass-reinforced concrete elements reinterpret traditional dockside forms, introducing warmth and a more human scale. Prefabricated off-site, these components balance material richness with construction efficiency, reflecting the studio’s guiding principle of ‘Maximum Impact, Minimum Intervention’—favouring low embodied carbon and long-term adaptability over wholesale demolition.
JRA led on the redesign of the surrounding public realm—formerly hostile to pedestrians. The resulting scheme introduces a kit of carbon-efficient, repeatable elements including planters, seating, and biodiversity-friendly interventions that create a more inviting edge condition for visitors.
The project demonstrates how light-touch interventions and retrofit strategies can unlock latent potential in large-scale legacy assets—offering a replicable model for other urban edge conditions.
Kuros Sarshar, Project Director at John Robertson Architects (JRA), states:
“Activating and reimagining underused space is at the heart of JRA’s retrofit-first approach, and something that we have focused upon at the ExCel Centre. Our design has unlocked the building latent potential through careful reuse, civic generosity and an inherently low-carbon design—something we believe should define the next era of urban transformation”
Project Team:
Architect: John Robertson Architects
Commissioning Client: ExCel London
Project Manager: G&T
Planners: DP9
Principal Designer: Butler & Young
Community Consultants: Newham
Structural Engineer: Campbell Reith
Cost Consultant: G&T
Sustainability Consultant: Hilson Moran
Building Control Officer: Salus
M&E Consultant: Hilson Moran
Sustainability Consultant: Hilson Moran
Fire Engineering Consultant: Hilson Moran Fire
Acoustic Consultant: Hilson Moran
Main Contractor: McLaren Construction