In light of the massive success of the Olympic Park the Landscape Institute (LI), the professional body for landscape architects, wants to see continued investment in new parks and green infrastructure across the UK.
A team of landscape architects led by British landscape architecture practice LDA-Design with the American landscape architecture firm Hargreaves Associates have been praised for creating a world class landscape from 100 hectares of highly contaminated brownfield land. The Park acts as a dramatic setting for the Olympic venues and is a catalyst for wider regeneration.
The project successfully demonstrates how a bigger vision for green infrastructure in a world city like London can be the principal driver for regeneration, the creation of jobs and attracting private investment. The Olympic Park is a shining example of the economic and social benefits of green infrastructure on a grand scale.
Sue Illman, President of the Landscape Institute, said: “There’s little doubt that the Olympic Park has made a massive contribution to the overall success of the Olympics and demonstrates what investment in our land and parks can do. The legacy of the Olympics should not only be about sporting achievement but about commitment to future investment in parks and green infrastructure as a fundamental part of all development across the UK.”
The Landscape Institute has two new initiatives intended to promote the benefits of green infrastructure underway. It has commissioned a series of films interviewing the key players behind the Olympic Park and has launched an open ideas competition to find new ‘green’ designs for the development of London’s public spaces.
Neil Mattinson FLI, of LDA Design, Tom Smith of AECOM, Sarah Price of Sarah Price Landscapes and Kym Jones CMLI of Applied Landscape Design have all agreed to be interviewed about their respective roles creating the Olympic Park and associated sites. The series will be released in mid-September.
‘A High Line for London: Green Infrastructure ideas competition for a new London landscape’ was launched by the Landscape Institute, Garden Museum and Mayor of London earlier this month. Inspired by New York’s High Line, and to be judged by a panel of experts including the founders of the High Line, entrants are being challenged to put forward innovative concepts that create imaginative new green space in the capital. A shortlist of twenty designs will be revealed at the end of September and the winner early in October.
