Largest roof garden for London announced
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Battersea Roof Garden in summer
Phase 3 Gehry Partners’ Prospect Place
Lookouts, a sunbathing lawn and a forest form part of the plans for the largest roof garden in London, unveiled for the latest phase of the Battersea Power Station Development.
The landscaped roof garden, which will sit atop 15 residential storeys and stretch over a quarter of a mile, will be illuminated at night and designed to reflect the changing seasons.
Whilst its creator is James Corner of Field Operations who was responsible for The High Line, this garden will be very different – ‘a grand city garden’ with secluded quiet areas, rather than the public thoroughfare of New York.
There will be walkways through the garden, however, passing through seating and planted areas, offering different experiences and vistas of the London skyline as well as of the adjacent Power Station. The ‘overlook’ opportunities are to include a step-through, narrow opening between trees to a lookout at the extreme tip.
Plans also feature a Fitness Deck and a Woodland Walk- the rooftop’s most dramatic feature -a forest of birch trees in the sky, their white trunks aligned with the iconic Power Station chimneys.
As well as more intimate spaces, there will be grander public areas including, at the centre, a Sun Lawn for picnicking, sunbathing, star-gazing and outdoor cinema. There will also be the Sun Lounge for hotel guests with seating installed amid perennials, grasses and trees, together with bars and dining areas.
For residents, there will be the Summer Kitchen with its communal Farm Table for social gatherings.
This garden, designed for the use of residents and hotel guests and occasional use by the general public, is planned for completion in 2019.
“An extraordinarily serene yet dynamic place to view the Power Station, the Thames, the City of London, the design of pathways, plantings, overlooks and special settings offers an air of theatricality and drama in the sky, making the garden a very special and unique experience in the context of London,” said James Corner describing his design.
As well as the roof garden, plans were also announced for the new Prospect Park intended to create a natural connection from Vauxhall, via the new planned linear park, from Battersea Power Station to the US Embassy and beyond.
www.batterseapowerstation.co.uk