What should the ‘healthy’ city of the future look like? How should it function? These eight ideas won a competition by the Landscape Institute to identify the best designs for green spaces that make the city a nicer place to live.
On Wednesday next week, the eight winners will have five minutes each to convince attendees of the Healthy Landscapes Symposium at the London Garden Museum that they have the best idea. An overall winner will be chosen by audience vote.
Water boulevards by Baharash Bagherian of Baharash Architecture
An integrated design approach between land and water, creating healthy places for people in dense cities whilst also mitigating the risks of flooding and pollution. The approach can be applied as a network of sustainable green streets in any city at risk of flooding.
Green (burial) infrastructure by Ann Sharrock, landscape architect and Ian Fisher of Manchester School of Architecture
A proposal to direct future cemeteries away from the community fringe and encourage incorporating burial facilities into appropriate temporal un-programmed spaces, awaiting development. In other words ‘to reframe death spaces as places that provide services to the living.’
Revitalising the River Don by Alexander Saunders of the University of Sheffield
A proposal to transform the previously industrialised waterways in Sheffield into a green corridor along the River Don with urban woodland and wetlands.
Slow City: ‘Imagine a city without cars’ by Rupert Dehaene-Gold & Atkins Shanghai of Landscape Studios
‘Our dream is simple: Imagine a city without cars. Call it a Slow City, because it is made for people to live in and enjoy. Dream of all the benefits a car free city might give: new public space, sustainable transport, better air quality, and former roads converted into Food Parks where fresh produce can be grown.’
Park life by Hannah Cameron & Atkins Shanghai of Design Studio
‘The park is where we can meet friends, children play, we relax and take a deep breath, feeling escapism among the trees. What if we brought the park literally to our front door? What if we reclaimed private, residential streets as local community space?’
Arcadia culture by Fairhurst
Although the terraced house has been modified in numerous ways, exterior spaces and surrounding streets have changed little. Modification of exterior space to include greenways that weave through existing terraces could benefit the health of residents and fit the aspirations of future communities.
Soap box: rejuvenating commuting communities by Chris Moss of Earthenware Landscape Architects Ltd
For many, the barrier to a healthy commute is not the lack of will or equipment but the absence of suitable showering and changing facilities. This project re-conditions old 1920s and ’40s shipping containers into modular rainwater-fed showers, gardens and seating hubs.
Thames baths project by Studio Octopi, JCLA, Civic Engineers
London’s largest public space, the River Thames, has been enclosed by roads and buildings that restrict accessibility. Thames baths projects would give every Londoner access to the River Thames, with a proposal that imagines a river that safely permits swimming – connecting Londoners to the heartbeat of London.
