Olympic Cauldron-designer Thomas Heatherwick has unveiled concept plans for a green bridge crossing the River Thames in London. The project is backed by London mayor Boris Johnson who wants to build new green infrastructure in the capital similar to New York’s High Line elevated park.
The vision for the link between the Victoria Embankment, near Temple and the South Bank comes after Heatherwick Studio – working with Arup – won a Transport for London tender to improve pedestrian access across the river. Heatherwick said: ‘With its rich heritage of allotments, gardens, heathland, parks and squares, London is one of the greenest cities in the world.
‘In this context we are excited to have been selected by TFL to explore the opportunity of a pedestrian river crossing. The idea is simple; to connect north and south London with a garden. We have been working with actor and campaigner Joanna Lumley, who has been a proponent of such an idea for several years.”
A spokesperson for the mayor told sister title New Civil Engineer: ‘The mayor has a long-standing commitment to increasing river crossings across the Thames. ‘He is also keen to help progress in London an iconic scheme similar to the New York High Line. He has instructed TfL to examine ways to do this. ‘A proposal is currently being progressed following a competitive tender process. The construction of the structure is entirely dependent on third party funding.’