SLA has been chosen as the landscape and public realm designer for the entire 40-acre (160.000 m2) site of the ambitious Earls Court Development in Central London.
The Earls Court Development project is one of London’s biggest and most strategically important redevelopment opportunities with a bold and ambitious vision to bring the wonder back to the iconic Earls Court site. The masterplan is led by client Earls Court Development Company (ECDC).
With a masterplan that opens up the site to the local community, celebrates the legacy of world-class ingenuity, creates a better piece of city, and responds to the climate emergency, the first phase of construction will include up to 1,300 mixed tenure homes including affordable homes which will be delivered alongside a mix of cultural spaces, offices that will provide opportunities for hundreds of jobs, alongside public parks, squares, plazas, and public realm.
The importance and prioritization of the public realm were decisive for the choice of the Danish star landscape architects:
As landscape and public realm designer, SLA will work together with masterplanners Hawkins Brown and Studio Egret West and alongside phase 1 architects Sheppard Robson with Serie Architects and dRMM, ACME and Haworth Tompkins, and Maccreanor Lavington to develop detailed designs for the first phase of the emerging masterplan. The masterplan will develop Earls Court based on the area’s strong cultural and industrial heritage, create new connections between Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, and open up the former Exhibition Center site to the outside world for the first time in 150 years.
“Earls Court unites people with memories of a place where people used to share magical experiences. We believe we can add to that legacy by uniting people and city through biodiversity and a generous and connected sequence of urban identities. A place where people share and celebrate a healthy and exciting city life, reconnected beyond the site boundaries, in a community-led, nature-based public realm for all Earls Court,” says Rasmus Astrup, Design Principal and Partner in SLA.
Construction for the first phase is set to commence in 2025.
Earls Court is the second major London public realm masterplan won by SLA. SLA is also the Public Realm and Landscape Masterplanner for the £10 billion ‘One Euston’ project in Camden, North London.
Earls Court Development
Location: London, United Kingdom
Client: Earls Court Development Company
Size: 40 acres (160,000 m2)
Public Realm and Landscape Designer: SLA
Masterplanners: Hawkins/Brown and Studio Egret West
Collaborators: Sheppard Robson, Serie Architects, dRMM, ACME, Haworth Tompkins, Maccreanor Lavington