The client for the project is the Westminster Borough Council, which is now planning to renovate Oxford Street, one of the busiest shopping streets in Europe, badly hit by the pandemic and therefore in need of a new functional program. For now, the council starts with temporary measures: the "hill" at the famous "Marble Arch" John Nash will open to visitors on June 21 and will stand until winter.
Constructed of scaffolding and turfed on a plywood base with "accents" of tubed trees, this elevation will provide Londoners and tourists alike with unexpected vantage points of Hyde Park, Arc de Triomphe and Oxford Street itself.
The hill will also remind you of more recently, when the arch stood at the edge of the park, until the road was cut off in the 1960s: architects express the hope that their creation will induce the city authorities to restore the previous layout or at least think about it.
Visitors will climb the southern slope to the top of the hill, and from there descend into the hall for exhibitions, concerts and similar events. The exit from there is located at ground level. From the side of the arch, the hill recedes slightly so as not to block the view of it.
All components of the hill are designed for reuse: forests will be taken apart, and plywood, soil, turf and trees will find use in parks in central London.
The project reminds of the unfulfilled MVRDV plan for London: they were invited to participate in the Serpentine Gallery's summer pavilion program, but in 2005 their plan is the only such event in the history of the program.
failed to implement. It was about a 23-meter green mountain, about the same structure as the current hill. Kensington Gardens is located very close to the "Marble Arch", that is, in a sense, this is the "second attempt" of Dutch architects. In addition, the authors mention their giant staircase installation in Rotterdam in 2016.
