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Leicester Square City Quarter
Leicester Square City Quarter
London, United Kingdom
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Leicester Square City Quarter
London, United Kingdom
Firm
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2012
SIZE
100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft
Photos
Leicester Square and its nine side streets are unique as together they form one of the most intensely used urban spaces in London with over two million people visiting each week. This green oasis of the West End hosts over 50 film premieres each year, as well as a great number of other large scale events.
Before the redesign the area had become disconnected from its surroundings and rundown in appearance. The aim was to re-establish the Square within its London context. The ‘city quarter’ was subdivided into distinctive urban components: the ‘connector streets’, the ‘square’ and the ‘gardens’ and, at its core, the listed Shakespeare Fountain.
The new design is inspired by the historic qualities of this green London Square and the late 19th century form of the central Gardens.
Everything radiates out from the historic Shakespeare fountain; the pathways widen towards the gates giving the illusion of greater distance and space; the Gardens are framed by a carpet of dark granite, the shape of which creates a legible link to the surrounding square. The 200m long white ‘Ribbon’ seat surrounding the Gardens provides informal seating opportunities and a ‘meeting place’ at any time of the day or night. Its sinuous form, together with the planting and mirrored railings behind it, softens the transition between the Gardens and the Square. This device blurs the experience of being ‘inside’ or ‘outside’ the Gardens, bringing the garden feeling out into the street.
Inside the Gardens the Central Circle is delineated by a gardenesque bronze and timber circular seat plus a ring of forty water jets surround the historic fountain. The use of water gives a relaxing and vibrant character to the Gardens and forms the centre piece and focus of the composition.
Before the redesign the area had become disconnected from its surroundings and rundown in appearance. The aim was to re-establish the Square within its London context. The ‘city quarter’ was subdivided into distinctive urban components: the ‘connector streets’, the ‘square’ and the ‘gardens’ and, at its core, the listed Shakespeare Fountain.
The new design is inspired by the historic qualities of this green London Square and the late 19th century form of the central Gardens.
Everything radiates out from the historic Shakespeare fountain; the pathways widen towards the gates giving the illusion of greater distance and space; the Gardens are framed by a carpet of dark granite, the shape of which creates a legible link to the surrounding square. The 200m long white ‘Ribbon’ seat surrounding the Gardens provides informal seating opportunities and a ‘meeting place’ at any time of the day or night. Its sinuous form, together with the planting and mirrored railings behind it, softens the transition between the Gardens and the Square. This device blurs the experience of being ‘inside’ or ‘outside’ the Gardens, bringing the garden feeling out into the street.
Inside the Gardens the Central Circle is delineated by a gardenesque bronze and timber circular seat plus a ring of forty water jets surround the historic fountain. The use of water gives a relaxing and vibrant character to the Gardens and forms the centre piece and focus of the composition.
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