In 1997 an international competition was announced for the design of a masterplan and design proposal for the Greenwich Peninsula to the East of central London.
This industrial area had been heavily polluted up until the beginning of the 1990's, since then it had undergone a cleaning process to create the opportunity for new development. A large proportion of the area is owned by the British government through English Partnerships, who together with Taylor Woodrow and Countryside Properties, (Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd.) have developed the project . The goal of this prestige filled competition is to create an ecological and socially sustainable city district. It is intended that Greenwich Millennium Village will represent the latest thinking in sustainability as an urban plan, architecture and building technique. The proposal has a clear structure of building volumes, combined with a clear hierarchy of open spaces streets and squares.