Monday 17 May 2010

Great Ormond Street : The Friends Garden

On a rather cold but sunny Saturday afternoon in the beginning of May I took a tour of the Great Ormond Street Hospitals new roof garden. Named the Friends Garden, it is the work of Landscape designer Andy Sturgeon.
Amongst the stress and strain of working inside Great Ormond street hospital is hidden a small oasis of calm and relaxation, as if floating slowly over the chimney pots and tower blocks of central London.



After taking the somewhat sanitised (and typically medical) steel lift to the top floor you are instantly greeted by a breeze of fresh air and brightness. A glass conservatory of sorts amplifies the light into the building, really providing a wonderful journey for the senses.
Entering outside you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the sheer calmness and tranquillity of the roof terrace; this is after all Central London, on a busy summer weekend. The streets below filled with angry bus drivers and cappuccino swigging tourists.
Colour plays a key role in uniting this project, from the oranges and blues that can found in the flower beds, to the pastel orange walls and bright Red contemporary garden furniture. Clearly the use of bold colour and details make for a strong identity when cast against the grey, charcoal tone of the city backdrop.
Take a closer look at the detail of the stone work and you will notice the garden is subtly and elegantly tagged with emotive words and phrases. A little investigating later reveals that on July 7th 2005 two much loved employees left for work and never arrived. The tragedy of July 7th bombings and the dignified memorial gives this garden an extra depth and really provides a space for rest and relaxation.




The Vistas from the 7th floor offer a wonderful mix of styles and architecture spanning thousands of years, from the distant London wall, the creaky Victorian town houses,the brutalist structure of Centre Point through to the gleaming glass towers of the Square mile.
It really is great to see that people who dedicate their lives to looking after others finally have a small resting place to chat, catch up, relax, remember lost friends or just eat their lunch.
Roof terraces will inevitably and thankfully become a familiar site over the next 10 years. As land in central and Greater London becomes scarcer and more expensive it is encouraging to see employers and homeowners embracing all space whether that be on a roof on in the garden, and giving a little something back to Mother nature.

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