“The vision is to create a renewed City garden and improved public space for future generations to enjoy – a tranquil haven for people and nature.” says Edward Freeman FLI, founder of Realm.
The City of London Corporation has revealed new images showing how Finsbury Circus Gardens, London’s oldest public park, will look in the future, with new landscape and public realm designed by Realm.
The project will retain the Grade II listed site character as a green haven, refresh and enrich the planting, and carefully integrate new paths and seating, with the aim of creating a more inviting place for the local community to relax and enjoy.
Finsbury Circus Gardens is the largest green space within the City of London and just one of over 180 individual Square Mile sites, owned and managed by the City Corporation, which attract over 21 million visitors every year.
For the last decade much of Gardens have been used for the construction of the nearby Liverpool Street Crossrail Station, and there is now an opportunity to improve and revitalise the space. Work is underway to transform Finsbury Circus Gardens into tranquil and beautiful environment that encourages people to relax and dwell throughout the day, while also boosting biodiversity in the City.
The plans for the garden aim to:
- Celebrate and enhance the heritage of the Gardens and improve the landscape setting for current and future generations.
- Improve biodiversity by introducing a wide range of new plant and tree species and habitats for birds, bees and bats.
- Introduce a new Park Office and yard for the City Gardens’ maintenance team from which to maintain the surrounding network of open spaces.
- Provide new areas of different planting types around the central lawn, with seasonal colour to enhance interest year-round and provide a higher quality publicly accessible destination fitting of the context.
- Enhance accessibility through the Gardens by introducing new paths and routes with more seating, whilst providing a choice of different types of seating in both shade and sun.
- Respond to the City of London’s ambitions to improve sustainability across the City.
Edward Freeman FLI, Founder of Realm and Lead Designer on the landscape and public realm for Finsbury Circus Gardens, says:
“We were delighted to win the international competition in 2020 to improve and revitalise London’s oldest public park, and the largest public open space in the Square Mile. The site has a fascinating history, from the natural processes that helped form it, and the people and communities that helped shape it.
Our concept references the history of the London Wall, the River Walbrook, and the marsh, with a design focusing on the creation of equitable space with improved accessibility for all and improving biodiversity with new planting palettes and trees selected for climate change and resilience”.
To read more about the plans click here.