This spring works have got under way at the former Ford factory site in Dagenham, marking its redevelopment with a community of more than 3,000 homes. Beam Park was one of the largest housing schemes to gain approval in the UK last year, and promises to transform a massive 31 hectare site. London’s large scale residential-led schemes – both low- and high-rise – have become something of a specialism for architect Patel Taylor, with the practice securing planning consent for 15,000 homes in total in 2018. Placemaking on that kind of scale in the capital calls for an understanding of London’s history, says Andrew Taylor, who founded the practice with Pankaj Patel three decades ago.

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