HTA Design lands Queen Elizabeth II memorial garden job

The Royal Parks appointed the Hackney Wick-based practice to draw up plans for a two-acre slice of Regent’s Park alongside Tate + Co, which is working on the architectural features, earlier this year.

The designs, which were released on Wednesday (December 20) as part of a five-week public consultation, show how the currently inaccessible site will be overhauled.

HTA’s proposals include new landscaping and the creation of a quiet space which it says will provide significant benefits to nature, including plant species important to Queen Elizabeth II’s life.

HTA Design said hedges, a lawn and a new pond feature alongside the planting which will attract wildlife. The planting will also be adaptable to the UK’s changing climate.

An accessible viewing platform created by a disused water tower and a pergola feature among several structures proposed for the garden.

The Royal Parks charity, which manages eight London parks, aims to reuse concrete, bricks and steel from the demolition of a former nursery on the site, which was decommissioned in 2018.

Oliver Rock, landscape director at HTA Design, said: “We are honored to be working with The Royal Parks on the design of this beautiful new garden at the heart of Regent’s Park to commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth II and to transform This is a brownfield site in a special, biodiverse, wildlife-attractive and climate-resistant public garden.

Andrew Scattergood, CEO of The Royal Parks, said: “This garden is a unique opportunity to turn gray into green and return two hectares of beautiful green space to central London. The design of the garden will deliver horticultural excellence with significant benefits for nature.

“It will be a quiet and reflective garden, the antithesis of the hustle and bustle of the city, and we hope that people will come and spend some quiet time here, enjoying the natural landscape and the wonderful color of the vintage that the garden will be. provide.’

The consultation on the first designs lasts until January 28. The park is due to open in 2026 to coincide with what would have been the 100th birthday of the late Queen.