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The Atlas Insider: A new look for Old Street roundabout
April 16, 2018
Gpad London's vision: Old Street Digital Garden
The area surrounding The Atlas Building is constantly benefiting from the growth of Tech City and ever-increasing Shoreditch popularity, and Islington Council’s competition to find concepts for the transformation of Old Street Roundabout is the perfect example of this.
The competition made an exciting development recently with the announcement of the four shortlisted designs. Almost 40 design teams, including Zaha Hadid Architects and AHMM, pitched their ideas for the future of the space. The £1 million project will see the roundabout removed, making way for landscaped public space that will benefit the area and community significantly.
The combination of high-tech design and eco-friendly initiatives found in the shortlisted concepts create an exciting vision for the future of the space and fit in perfectly with surrounding Tech City. The development plans come amongst wider schemes being considered to increase London’s public realm, such as the proposed pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.
The four shortlisted designs are:
Old Street Digital Garden
This eco-conscious design by Gpad London features a pavilion with a water feature, surrounded by a forest of lights to generate electricity. Aesthetically great and good for the environment, the design also sees the existing advertising screens utilised as a cycle parking structure.
Image source: Gpad London
Old Street Park
Flexible and open; Nicholas Hare Architects’ design ‘Old Street Park’ proposes a smart green space for the use of residents, cyclists, city workers and visitors alike, channelling the social and economic aspirations of the local community.
Image source: Nicholas Hare Architects
The Iris
EPR Architects put forward plans for an open space centred around a reflective lens, from which the design takes its name ‘The Iris’. The design envisages an area that provides escapism from the busy city and encourages social gatherings, ideal for street performances and plays.
Image source: EPR Architects
Old Street Circus 2050
Dar Group's vision is to reclaim the roundabout area for people and to transform it into a genuinely useable, inclusive, healthy and safe public space hosting a wide-range of activities such as film screenings, concerts, street-markets and festivals. The Dar proposal includes an iconic sculptural ring of light that will incorporate art, dynamic information, advertising and green infrastructure to create a new landmark for London.
