Northala Fields (London) created by artist Peter FINK and landscape architect Igor MARKO
The word that best defines the Northala Fields project located in London is monumental. Four great mounds dominate the skyline, one with a distinctive spiral path, forms the centre piece of the site rising up out of what was once a barren, windswept, inaccessible tract of land adjacent to a major highway, besieged by the constant rumble of traffic and exhaust from millions of vehicles flowing into and out of London's central core. The mounds are at the heart of a dynamic design developed to create a park for the 21st century at no cost to the tax payer. The funding of the £ 5.5 million park is unique generating both the income as well as the material to construct the mounds from the deposition of 1.5 million cubic meters of clean construction spoil making the park; for example; the final resting place of the Wembley Towers.
The recycling of this amount of spoil has delivered a real shrinking of the ecological footprint of London by eliminating 160000 lorry journeys over 200 miles to outlying tips.
Northala Fields inspires movement. Unlike many of parks dotted across Greater London that seem to lull visitors into repose with their ubiquitous deck chairs, the design of this park and its topology seems to propel visitors into motion. Perhaps there is something buried deep within the human psyche that drives us to climb, to reach the top, knowing that we will just have to come down again. Whatever that something is, it has permeated the grounds of Northala and on any given day you can see countless people - seniors, mothers, young couples, lone joggers, groups of school children, and fathers and sons leading the charge up the mounds. What many may not realise, is that not only do they now have a new park in their community, they also have a piece of land-art. So how does one define Northala Fields - municipal park , modern earthwork, or a bit of both?
The result is a park that incorporates fully accessible fishing ponds, two children's playgrounds, a marshland reserve, a model boating pond, cycle paths, open playing fields, and the four giant mounds. Yet, despite all these areas of different activity the site design flows together and creates the sense of being one harmonious park as well as Europe's largest example of land-art.
The artist Peter Fink and architect Igor Marko are partners in FoRM associates a London-based design practice that looks holistically at the "livability" of 21st century cities, creating places that are better to live in, work in and enjoy. FoRM associates are urbanists in the widest sense, working collaboratively to fuse urban design and landscape architecture with ecology, environmental design, masterplanning, architecture,branding, lighting, arts, media and engineering.
Further information:
Rick Rowbotham
FoRM Associates
154 Narrow street
London E14 8BP
email: rowbotham@formassociates.eu
post@formassociates.eu
The recycling of this amount of spoil has delivered a real shrinking of the ecological footprint of London by eliminating 160000 lorry journeys over 200 miles to outlying tips.
Northala Fields inspires movement. Unlike many of parks dotted across Greater London that seem to lull visitors into repose with their ubiquitous deck chairs, the design of this park and its topology seems to propel visitors into motion. Perhaps there is something buried deep within the human psyche that drives us to climb, to reach the top, knowing that we will just have to come down again. Whatever that something is, it has permeated the grounds of Northala and on any given day you can see countless people - seniors, mothers, young couples, lone joggers, groups of school children, and fathers and sons leading the charge up the mounds. What many may not realise, is that not only do they now have a new park in their community, they also have a piece of land-art. So how does one define Northala Fields - municipal park , modern earthwork, or a bit of both?
The result is a park that incorporates fully accessible fishing ponds, two children's playgrounds, a marshland reserve, a model boating pond, cycle paths, open playing fields, and the four giant mounds. Yet, despite all these areas of different activity the site design flows together and creates the sense of being one harmonious park as well as Europe's largest example of land-art.
The artist Peter Fink and architect Igor Marko are partners in FoRM associates a London-based design practice that looks holistically at the "livability" of 21st century cities, creating places that are better to live in, work in and enjoy. FoRM associates are urbanists in the widest sense, working collaboratively to fuse urban design and landscape architecture with ecology, environmental design, masterplanning, architecture,branding, lighting, arts, media and engineering.
Further information:
Rick Rowbotham
FoRM Associates
154 Narrow street
London E14 8BP
email: rowbotham@formassociates.eu
post@formassociates.eu