A playful and inspiring inner-urban garden and laneway regeneration project designed by Australian architect Andrew Burns, in collaboration with British landscape designer Sarah Eberle, opened in London recently.
Gibbon’s Rent laneway project by Australian architect Andrew Burns in collaboration with British landscape designer Sarah Eberle.
Image: Max Creasy
Chosen as the lead opening event at the prestigious 2012 London Architecture Festival, the Gibbon’s Rent laneway project revitalizes a previously neglected area of inner London.
Sydney-based Burns explained, “This project is a small but very powerful lesson about how to build real community. Particularly in urban areas, people are hungry for the connectedness that nature represents. What we have done is create a clear structure or geometry – we call it a harlequin – which then provides the opportunity for the community to engage with and embellish the geometry, and to complete the scheme.”
The local community was invited to complete the scheme, with schools, businesses and community groups each bringing a pot plant and planting it under Eberle’s guidance.
The eighty-five-metre-long inner-urban walk will become a permanent community garden, a place to rest during the day and a memorable cut-through. Events, food stalls and a market garden will be held throughout the year.
This project was made possible by the support of Team London Bridge, Southwark Council, The Peter De Haan Charitable Trust, NSW Architects Registration Board and Farebrother Chartered Surveyors.
