Design District

A purpose-built creative quarter on Greenwich Peninsula rather than a converted building: sixteen buildings by a group of leading architectural practices, fully pedestrianised across around 150,000 sq ft, one minute from North Greenwich and directly opposite the O2. It opened in 2021 with a stated aim of keeping creative businesses in London as the affordable space available to them shrank, and the architects were briefed to design somewhere they would want to work themselves, which shows in high ceilings, natural ventilation and north-facing light rather than in a lobby finish.

Coworking runs from day passes through hot and fixed desks, with serviced studios and private offices for teams of two to fifty and whole bespoke units for a headquarters. What a rival cannot easily copy is the shared production kit: photography and post-production studios, podcast suites, 3D and specialist printing, pottery facilities, a laser cutter and industrial sewing machines, most hireable within other occupiers' spaces, which turns the occupier list itself into infrastructure. A street food hall and bar, London's only rooftop basketball court and a free events programme cover the rest of the day.