Archinect - News

London's Camden Highline project gets official planning approval

2023-01-20T11:46:00-05:00

London is getting an attractive new elevated parkway feature after planning approvals were granted for the proposed Camden Highline, the BBC reported on Friday.

Running from Camden Gardens to Royal College Street near the King’s Cross transit hub, the parkway will transform a disused Victorian rail viaduct while adding green space to some of the capital’s traditionally underserved districts. It will also bring projected economic benefits totaling £10.9m ($13.46 million) over the project’s lifetime, and help stitch together the snaking chessboard of different neighborhoods that lie along its 1.2 kilometer (0.75-miles) path.

Piet Oudolf will lead the design, which apparently entails a series of “ecosystems and experiences” made up of three sections culminating in a fully-accessible entry point at York Street to the north. Each section will include a program of features such as a children’s playground, nesting sites, and an outdoor classroom. Construction costs for the first section o...

London's Camden Highline proposal submitted for planning, set to open first phase in 2025

2022-05-19T18:51:00-04:00

London’s proposed Camden Highline has been submitted for planning. Led by the practice behind the New York High Line, James Corner Field Operations, and Camden-based firm vPPR Architects, the project will regenerate a disused railway viaduct to establish an elevated park that connects Camden Town to Kings Cross.

The master plan will create walking routes between local neighborhoods and inject needed green space across a mix of communities. It will feature gardens, walkways, seating areas, cafés, arts and cultural interventions, spaces for charitable activities, and play areas for children. The initiative also aims to boost the region’s biodiversity by providing wildlife habitats for birds, insects, and animals.

Previously on Archinect: James Corner Field Operations to lead design for new UK Highline

“We are extremely excited to share this design vision for Camden Highline,” said Lead Designer James Corner. “The design is intended to celebrate and amplify the unique characteristics ...

Artist Hew Locke will activate the Met facade with a quartet of trophy-like reflections on the museum's history and collection

2022-04-11T15:31:00-04:00

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that Hew Locke will be the next artist featured in its provocative Facade Commission series.

The Guyanese-British artist’s effort is titled “Gilt” and will follow recent interventions by Carol Bove and Wangechi Mutu for the third version of the commission, which was begun in 2019 as the museum looked for new ways to engage its collections, history, and neoclassical exterior with the public and its newfound mandate for institutional self-reflection.

Architect Richard Hunt Morris was never fully able to realize his vision for the museum’s facade by the time of its completion in 1902. As a result, four extended niches were left empty until the commission began and will now showcase a quartet of trophy-like sculptures from Locke that are “informed by [his] deep knowledge of the Met’s collection and […] reference the institution in ways both direct and indirect,” according to Director Max Hollein....