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Client: Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Location: Holland Park, London
Cost: £1.75M
Area: 2.5 hectares
Project Type: Heritage & Culture / Public Realm
XQLA led a multidisciplinary team to shape sensitive proposals for improved public realm at the South Terrace and Arcade café spaces of the Grade 1 listed house in this central London Park.
In close collaboration with the client and stakeholders, Historic England and Friends of Holland Park, a series of sensitive and bespoke interventions were developed to deliver new contemporary spaces appropriate to the unique setting of this nationally significant heritage asset.
The completed scheme provides an improved outdoor café space at the heart of the park (associated with the listed arcade) a new access road to the South Terrace and the new high-quality public terrace itself, which forms the forecourt for this fine Jacobean house, such that it can once again sit proudly as the centre piece of the historic park and Conservation Area (Grade II). The terrace is designed to withstand heavy loading requirements for city level events (including hosting the internationally acclaimed Opera Holland Park) and the improved vehicular route to the terrace enables the heavy/high sided vehicular access to meet demanding servicing requirements.
That said the ambition of the scheme has not simply been to re-engage the building with the park, but also hea rts and minds with the story of the house.
Civic Trust Award Winner (Regional) 2021.