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Urban Design News
Historic London landmark revitalised

A shimmering glass pavilion and new public square will appear next to the City of London's most historic landmark almost 350 years after it was first built to commemorate the Great Fire of London.

The Monument is a 61 metre tall Roman Doric column built in the 1670s, located near to the north end of London Bridge, 61 metres from the site of the baker's shop where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. At the time of construction it was the tallest free-standing stone column in the world and became infamous in the 1800s as a place from which people jumped to commit suicide. Accredited to Sir Christopher Wren, The Monument was in fact co-designed by Robert Hooke, a surveyor to the City of London. Hooke was responsible for the planning of huge areas of pre-Victorian London and was equally known as an inventor. Hooke and Wren built The Monument to double as a scientific instrument - for barometric pressure studies and for use as a telescope.

Now, as part of the City's Street Scene Challenge initiative, a contemporary glass and stone pavilion designed by bere:architects will appear next to the Monument in January. It will be a discrete sculptural element, with over 100 pieces of angled mirrored glass on the roof reflecting the flaming golden orb at the top of the Monument and rewarding those visitors who climb to the top of the landmark and look back down into the square.

A new public square will be created as part of Monument Street is pedestrianised, marking the extent of Wren's original Monument Yard between Fish Street Hill and Pudding Lane; the pavement resurfaced in York and Caithness stone and granite. The creation of the square includes the landscaping of the area around the pavilion and an oak-decked garden suspended over the derelict basement of the former Canoe House, to create an attractive outdoor space with seating for the enjoyment of City residents, workers and visitors.

A commemorative flagstone will also be laid to Robert Hooke (1635-1703), the often-overlooked inventor, architect and co-designer of The Monument with Sir Christopher Wren. bere:architects' pavilion will incorporate a reference to the universal joint, one of Hooke's many inventions.

The project is part of the City of London's Street Scene Challenge initiative, which enhances the City's streets by reclaiming them from traffic in collaboration with respected architects, designers and artists. This is the latest in a series of projects that has recently seen the creation of a new public square by Eric Parry Architects (Aldermanbury Square), a Riverside Walkway along the north bank of the Thames (also with bere:architects) and the redevelopment of large swathes of the street level landscape in the City of London.

Justin Bere of bere:architects told Sapling.info:

"We are delighted that the City of London has been adventurous enough in its commissioning to give us the freedom to design this unusual pavilion. It appears to be casually placed in Monument Square but on closer examination has a precise sculptural relationship to the Monument. We hope it adds another, modern dimension to the experience of visiting this great landmark."

Published at Sapling.info: December 2006

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Bere:architects [external link]
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