Project name: Emma Cons Gardens, Waterloo, London
Client: Circle Waterloo, Lambeth Borough Council, Bourne Capital
Start: July 2004
Engineer: Stockley
Landscape Projects were commissioned to prepare a strategic master plan for the Lower Marsh/ The Cut district of Lambeth, South London including a design for Emma Cons Gardens, identified as one of the 10 pilot projects for the '100 spaces' programme for the GLA.
Our initial work on the master plan identified three types of public space with three distinct characters: Lower Marsh as a place for 'transaction', Millennium Green as a pleasant green space for 'relaxation' and Emma Cons Gardens as an active square for 'interaction'. Our design for the square at Emma Cons reflected this initial analysis by providing a simple surface with minimal clutter that could effectively accommodate a range of activities.
The existing footway was extended and a granite surface designed to cross the highway and link a new cafe on one side to the Old Vic theatre on the other. Four giant black stripes emphasise this link. The existing gardens are reorganised to provide a pleasant edge to the square with a fine stone wall providing a place to sit.
