Exhibition Road: transforming London's cultural centre
Creating a world-class streetscape from a thoroughfare currently described as
"cluttered, incomprehensible to visitors and pedestrian unfriendly" is
the aim of the ambitious Exhibition Road Project.
Making space
The buildings and institutions of Exhibition Road are not just one of
London's treasures but a jewel in the UK's intellectual and cultural crown. The
area is home to three national museums, three universities, the Royal Albert
Hall and the Royal Geographical Society alongside many other extraordinary
buildings. Their setting, though, has begun to obscure, rather than showcase,
their good looks.
It was to tackle that gap between the visually imposing architecture and its
uninspiring setting that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea launched a
competition to find an architect capable of creating a more appropriate canvas
for the area's world-class institutions.
The announcement in August that Dixon Jones Architects and Ove Arup and
Partners had been formally appointed to take the project forward marked the end
of the competition and the start of an exciting new era for Exhibition Road.
The aim will be not to restore or renovate Exhibition Road but to create a
world-class streetscape that transforms South Kensington by - in the words of
the competition brief - "making a space for a new century".
The Exhibition Road project is all about "making space" and using
what is available to best effect. Linking the museums, academies and other
famous buildings, providing a showcase for street art and performance, making
the area accessible and understandable to visitors and creating a "sense of
place" will be vital ingredients.
The final design will follow extensive public consultation and will include a
long-awaited redesign of the pedestrian tunnel that takes visitors from South
Kensington Underground Station to the great museums and Hyde Park beyond.
The brief
The Exhibition Road competition was to select a designer, not a design. Sir
Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones are now working with the Royal Borough and its
partners to come up with a scheme for the whole area, with a view to consulting
local people as well as the "experts".
The detail is yet to come, but architects entering the competition were told
that, among other things, the eventual design would have to:
- Look to the future, set new standards in urban design and deliver a unity
of design along the whole length of Exhibition Road
- Reflect South Kensington's role as an internationally significant centre
of cultural and educational activity and respond to growing visitor numbers
- Preserve and improve the quality of life for local people
- Help to attract a more diverse audience to South Kensington
- Create an attractive place for pedestrians without excluding traffic
- Tackle the poor state of the pedestrian tunnel and encourage better use of
it
- Make space for public art
Dixon Jones has worked on the Royal Opera House, Somerset House, the new wing
of the National Portrait Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds. The
architects' "Statement of Vision" said the project would
"transform the existing space and release its urban cultural
potential."
The Council has proposed an international arts
and cultural festival focused on South Kensington and Hyde Park.
It would be an essential part of the 2012 Olympics and the formal
bidding process.
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What about local people?
While the plans for Exhibition Road aim to highlight and develop its role in
showcasing South Kensington's architectural and cultural treasures, the Royal
Borough is keenly aware of its responsibilities to local people and expects the
project to encompass the needs of residents, visitors and the institutions.
The project aims to deliver a streetscape local people can be proud of while
avoiding the danger of creating a cultural theme park. The area may be an
international treasure store, but it is still home to many Royal Borough and
City of Westminster residents.
Who are the partners?
A project of this scale - about £25 million will be needed to take the
scheme from drawing board to dramatic reality - needs the total commitment of
the partners involved, in this case the City of Westminster, the Mayor of
London's Architecture and Urbanism Unit and Transport for London (TfL).
Exhibition Road is one of ten pilot projects in the Mayor of London's Making
Space for Londoners initiative with its ambitious target of creating or
upgrading 100 public spaces in the city over the next five years. TfL has so far
allocated £550,000 towards the project over three years.
Since the project is clearly of national significance, the partners have
spoken to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport about the possibility of
bidding to the Government Office for London for funds. Lottery cash is another
possibility.
What happens next?
The timetable is taking shape. First designs will be presented to the
project's client board, chaired by Councillor Daniel Moylan, by the end of this
year. The final design though will follow extensive public consultation. That is
planned for the spring of next year.
What the final plans will look like is already a hot topic for the Council
and for many local residents. Above all, the Exhibition Road project will be
designed to give an extraordinary cluster of internationally-important buildings
the setting that they so richly deserve.
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