What is Lambeth Green?
Lambeth Green is our project to transform 5.3 acres of public realm adjacent to the Garden Museum into a series of new parks and interconnected public green spaces, and to build a landmark new public garden. The project has received the support of Lambeth Council, TfL, the Mayor of London, and many other notable figures. As Sadiq Khan wrote in 2018, to support a mould-breaking approach to create London’s ‘first green traffic junction’:
‘The proposals by the Garden Museum are wholly consistent with my ambitions, set out in my Transport Strategy and London Environment Strategy, to improve the public realm and make London’s public realm greener… I am delighted to hear that the Garden Museum are bringing their expertise to bear on the proposals of the remodelling of the southern side of Lambeth Bridge and I look forward to seeing their proposals’.
The new landscape, designed by Dan Pearson Studio – one of the UK’s most exciting and in demand landscape designers, specialising in naturalistic perennial planting – will give local people and volunteers with places to garden, and provide essential opportunities to learn about caring form urban green spaces, as well as being a green entrance to the Garden Museum and Lambeth.
At the heart of the landscape, a new single-storey horticultural pavilion, designed by Mary Duggan Architects, will be a space for young people and volunteers to learn about and practice gardening. The design, with walls comprised of reclaimed stone sourced from London-based sites carefully graded within a cement-free binder, will be London’s first building to be made from recycled materials, dramatically improving the area for our neighbours and for Londoners, whilst demonstrating the beauty of re-using materials.
Why are we doing this?
TfL announced plans to upgrade the junction by Lambeth Bridge and the Museum in 2017, making it safer for cyclists and pedestrians. In the new pavement space created by the change, we saw the opportunity to create a green traffic junction, in one of the most nature depleted parts of the borough and right on our doorstep.
We developed a green masterplan for the area with Dan Pearson Studio and Publica in 2018. Gardeners and volunteers will be needed to maintain the new green spaces, and they will need a tool shed, and somewhere to meet.
Central to the Lambeth Green project is a programme to train Lambeth’s young people horticulture and green skills. At present, if you are a young person in Lambeth interested in pursuing a career in horticulture you have very limited options.
There are currently minimal opportunities, and those that do exist are poorly taken up; Lambeth (71.6%) falls below the national average (86.1%) and the London average (78.6%) for 16–18-year-old students that are in sustained education, on an apprenticeship or employment. The Garden Museum has hosted one Horticultural Trainee each year for over a decade, sparking illustrious careers in the industry, but these tend to be older individuals with some training already.
Our project will address the lack of opportunities for school leavers by creating far more traineeships and opportunities to learn, in partnership with an institution. To deliver this ambition, we require a new pavilion dedicated to horticulture in Lambeth.
What will the building be like?
To look after the new public gardens, we will need a tool shed and spaces for training gardeners and volunteers. We will also provide training for young people living in Lambeth who want to pursue a career in horticulture. Mary Duggan was selected as the architect for the Lambeth Green Pavilion, following a competition run through the Architects’ Journal. Her design recycles old, demolished London buildings (architectural salvage), first crushing them before forming new terrazzo walls in a soft pink colour. These ornamental walls will wrap around the outer edge of Lambeth Green, with niches and apertures for plants and insects to inhabit – a modern take on the “crinkle crankle” wall.
Who is Lambeth Green for?
Lambeth Green is a space for everyone, in the same way St Mary’s Garden has been. It will remain open to the public 24 hours a day, as a well-maintained green space, with a new lawn and improved seating. Ultimately, we wish to transform an under-used space into a public garden that is as alive and beautiful as the Museum gardens.
Where will the plants that are in St Mary’s Garden go? What about the fountain and mosaics?
We want to save as many plants as possible. Some plants will be relocated to Old Paradise Gardens, and others we will share with the local community. Please express your interest if you are a community group looking for plants (lambethgreen@gardenmuseum.org.uk). The new plants, selected by Dan Pearson, will increase biodiversity and be resilient to the future effects of climate change. The current plan is for the mosaics to be repurposed in Archbishops Park, a five-minute walk from St Mary’s Gardens. The existing water fountain won’t be included in the new garden, but we are looking at ways we can provide water for wildlife.
Who will look after it?
When the new gardens and street planting are completed, it will be cared for by the Garden Museum’s Head Gardener, and new trainee garden apprentices that will be based in the Pavilion building. We will also host regular volunteering sessions for the community as we do with the Museum gardens and Old Paradise Gardens already.
Learn more about Lambeth Green
Have a question about Lambeth Green? Get in touch with the team:
Issy MacGregor, Special Projects Officer issy@gardenmuseum.org.uk
George Hudson, Green London Curator georgeh@gardenmuseum.org.uk