Like New York, the British capital is going to have its own Highline Park London in the future: 63 designs competed in an ideas competition on how a disused viaduct could upgrade London district Hammersmith. The two winners present the range of possibilities – from aquarium to Mediterranean park. The jury awarded two first prizes: to bauchplan ).( (Munich) and Richard Jackson (London).

Aquarium instead of elevated railway

With “fish and chips: escape from the urban hustle and bustle”, bauchplan ).( focuses on eco-social urban processes, which provide the district with access to a post-industrial infrastructure. The designers reactivate the abandoned elevated railway through strikingly orchestrated aquaponics: fish tanks and water basins form part of the viaduct and provide space for cultivating fish and plants, as well as leisure activities such as fishing, swimming and urban gardening.

Highline London under glass

Architect and garden designer Richard Jackson reinvents the London elevated railway as a sustainable garden space with a continuous promenade and stepped seating areas with his “Hi-Line” contribution. Two “biomes” catch the eye from an architectural perspective. These organically shaped greenhouses for tropical and Mediterranean plants also function as public areas and as a café. The Hydroponik Center towards the west showcases future ways of producing food.

2016 bauchplan ).( won the German Proze for Urban Design. Click here to get to now their project WAGNIS.