During the past couple of weeks I've been walking in and around the City of London exploring green spaces in preparation for possible sites options for the Chelsea Fringe Festive next year.
St Dunstan in the East
I fell in love with this space whilst searching for a home for Experiential Spaces and thought I would revisit it once again to see if it could work for the Fringe. What's left is the exterior walls of a medieval building which was destroyed during world war two bombings. Once again we see these spaces being used by the local workers as an opportunity to step out of the working environment and spend a little time outside. It's such a wonderful place the quality of light is stunning and the trees have also inhabited the interior and exterior perimeters.
The following three sites I continued with were all in very close proximity to St Paul's Cathedral.
The first spot was Christ Church Greyfriars Garden on King Edward Street. This sits on the 13th century site of the Franciscan church of Greyfriars. Unfortunately it was destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt by Wren and once again destroyed during the second world war bombing in much the same way as many other buildings in and around the surrounding areas.
What exists today is a beautiful scented garden which mirrors the original structure of Wren's church, and is huddled in-between two main roads.
Although I really liked this space Sasha and I both agreed that it's already a fully established space and wouldn't really benefit from any kind of intervention.
The Postman's Park
Also on King Edward Street and a moments walk from Greyfriars Garden. This was quite different in atmosphere and the structure of the space. It was originally two grave yards and there are also two entrances in and out of the park. It's perfectly positioned as you leave the park from the opposite end you are immediately confronted with the Museum of London.
It's known as the Postman's park as it used to be a popular place for the post office workers to spend their lunch. It's now known as a memorial garden for those who died in heroic acts losing their life to save others.
St Bartholomew's the Great
Sits in West Smithfield very close to the Meat Market. It was founded in 1123 as a Augustinian Priory. Unlike Greyfriars Garden and St Dunstan in the East over on St Dunstan's Hill this site survived the great fire aswell as being untouched by the WW2 bombings.
It's a relatively small space with two sides sitting on different levels. The back of the church runs along Cloth Fair during the medieval period cloth and fabric was bought and sold here.
I instantly found that fascinating particularly as we are considering the use of fabric within the final design.
Sasha and myself plan to walk these spaces together next week, We thought it would be interesting to initially visit the spaces separately so we would be able to discuss our thoughts without the distraction of one other's opinions on the first visit.
St Dunstan in the East
I fell in love with this space whilst searching for a home for Experiential Spaces and thought I would revisit it once again to see if it could work for the Fringe. What's left is the exterior walls of a medieval building which was destroyed during world war two bombings. Once again we see these spaces being used by the local workers as an opportunity to step out of the working environment and spend a little time outside. It's such a wonderful place the quality of light is stunning and the trees have also inhabited the interior and exterior perimeters.
The following three sites I continued with were all in very close proximity to St Paul's Cathedral.
The first spot was Christ Church Greyfriars Garden on King Edward Street. This sits on the 13th century site of the Franciscan church of Greyfriars. Unfortunately it was destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt by Wren and once again destroyed during the second world war bombing in much the same way as many other buildings in and around the surrounding areas.
What exists today is a beautiful scented garden which mirrors the original structure of Wren's church, and is huddled in-between two main roads.
Although I really liked this space Sasha and I both agreed that it's already a fully established space and wouldn't really benefit from any kind of intervention.
The Postman's Park
Also on King Edward Street and a moments walk from Greyfriars Garden. This was quite different in atmosphere and the structure of the space. It was originally two grave yards and there are also two entrances in and out of the park. It's perfectly positioned as you leave the park from the opposite end you are immediately confronted with the Museum of London.
It's known as the Postman's park as it used to be a popular place for the post office workers to spend their lunch. It's now known as a memorial garden for those who died in heroic acts losing their life to save others.
St Bartholomew's the Great
Sits in West Smithfield very close to the Meat Market. It was founded in 1123 as a Augustinian Priory. Unlike Greyfriars Garden and St Dunstan in the East over on St Dunstan's Hill this site survived the great fire aswell as being untouched by the WW2 bombings.
It's a relatively small space with two sides sitting on different levels. The back of the church runs along Cloth Fair during the medieval period cloth and fabric was bought and sold here.
I instantly found that fascinating particularly as we are considering the use of fabric within the final design.
Sasha and myself plan to walk these spaces together next week, We thought it would be interesting to initially visit the spaces separately so we would be able to discuss our thoughts without the distraction of one other's opinions on the first visit.