Hammersmith’s skyline has the potential to become a New York-style sustainable park thanks to a competition to reimagine a disused railway area and viaduct.
Hammersmith BID and West London Link launched a competition earlier this year asking for ideas that rethink how the space could be used to make it an attraction for residents, employees and visitors.
Following 200 expressions of interest the Hammersmith Highline competition received 63 entries all brimming with different and innovative ideas, with the two winning entries imagining everything from aquariums to Mediterranean parks.
The winning entries, announced last week, are titled fish and chips and Hammersmith Hi-Line.
Hammersmith Hi-Line draws on his Richard Jackson’s experience as a landscape and garden designer. His winning entry reimagines the area as a sustainable garden space including a promenade, stepped seating area and a boardwalk.
The winning features include:
- The Hi-Line, New York: an elevated linear park using native American plants and showing the value of the green spaces in city spaces.
- Future Food: a demonstration space for hydroponic food production with solar panel roof.
The Hammersmith Hi-Line: a repurposing of a viaduct into a promenade with wild and natural planting close to the Lyric Theatre. - The Biomes: glasshouses offering an all-weather public space, including a café, space for public use that would be home to Mediterranean and tropical plants.
The judges described the idea as: “An ambitious proposal, with lots of interesting ideas regarding new ways of growing in an urban setting. Good educational value.”
Architectural firm bauchplan came up with a concept called ‘fish and chips: escape from the urban hustle-bustle’. Their idea reimagines the space with water and nature themes using green space and clever vegetation to limit noise and control the microclimate.
The winning features include:
- A connected highline: bridge networks from Kings Mall for pedestrians, runners and cyclists.
- A liveable highline: a space for water-based activities, an urban field and an aquarium.
- The blue abyss: a series of large-scale fish tanks with greenhouse space above where activities can take place.
- An ecological highline: an ‘aquaponic system’ which collects water from nearby buildings and connects to the fish tanks and green houses.
The judges feedback said the design: “offers many programming opportunities. Also, its sustainability element drew me in. The aquarium idea was also creative.”
The judging panel included representatives from the New York Highline; the Royal College of Art; local tech firm chimni; Chartered Practice Architects; Medidata and Hammersmith BID.
All of the entries will be displayed at the Hammersmith Highline exhibition in Kings Mall shopping centre between 24th June – 7th July 2019.
The winning entries can be seen here.
