The Fleet River Channel prosposal shortlisted
The Landscape Institute, Mayor of London and The Garden Museum launched a competition this summer for a spectacular piece of new London green infrastructure, something equivalent to New York's magnificent new High Line park. My entry was one of 20 shortlisted from 170 hopefuls. The idea was to liberate the portion of the lost River Fleet that runs beneath Farringdon Road and New Bridge Street, an idea inspired by a book on wedding present (a book on Lost Rivers) and a visit to Seoul this August where the Mayor liberated a lost river and soon after became South Korea's President. Unfortunately Boris wasn't a judge, or perhaps I might have actually won. This went to an idea to grow mushrooms in the abandoned Royal Mail tunnels beneath Oxford Street. All other 19 shortlisted entries were from trained architects and landscape architects so it was of great satisfaction to have broken into this cabal. The 20 short listed designs are on display at The Garden Museum and have been written about extensively in the press. An article by Stephen Bayley expands on the entries including a few words about my role as a guerrilla gardener. Download my entry here.