Urban realm in Mayfair dates back to 1720s
Developer Grosvenor has begun work on turning London’s Grosvenor Square into an urban garden.
The fourth redesign of the square in its 300-year history, drawn up by architect Tonkin Liu and delivered by BDP will pay homage to the original 1720s design, laid down when Grosvenor developed the square in the early 18th century as the centrepiece of its Mayfair estate.
It will include 70,000 new plants, 44 new trees, new wetlands and around 80,000 new bulbs, increasing planting from 140 sq m to.8,000 sq m.
The development will also include pavilions, play equipment, seating and decking.
Contractor on the scheme is Maylim which has previously carried out work on the Battersea Power Station redevelopment. Work is expected to be completed next summer.
The area around Grosvenor Square has been undergoing a transformation in recent years with Multiplex close to completing a £500m scheme to turn the former US embassy at 30 Grosvenor Square into a luxury hotel for Qatari Diar under plans by David Chipperfield.
The grade II-listed building was built in 1960 and designed by Eero Saarinen, the acclaimed Finnish-American architect’s only UK project.
The last US embassy staff moved out more than seven years ago into its new building, constructed by Sir Robert McAlpine, at Nine Elms in Vauxhall.
No comments yet