Shepherd’s Bush Green

Shepherd’s Bush Green is central to the regeneration and perception of Shepherd’s Bush Town Centre. It plays an important role in connecting the Whitecity commercial development with the town centre shops, the surrounding facilities and residential areas. It is a significant public open space and an important local landmark. Ian Ritchie Architects were commissioned in October 1999 by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham to analyse the existing conditions of the Green and its immediate surroundings. We chose to develop vision for its improvement with Hinnerk Wehberg of Büro Wehberg Eppinger Schmidtke, landscape architects from Hamburg.

The key elements of the design concept for improvements to the perimeter are:
–  Widening pavements around the Green
–  Planting new trees to create ‘avenues’ on the south and west sides
–  Creating wide pedestrian crossings to increase access onto the Green The key ingredients for a new landscape design of the Green are: –  Water – as a new child-friendly element at the south-west corner
–  Topography – varying levels slightly to change the perception of the Green
–  Light – new solutions for artificial lighting that also maximise public safety
–  Give Shepherd’s Bush Green a Contemporary Art Space Vision

A highly charged triangle of grass, bounded on all three sides by road, could become an oasis for the arts, drawing to it a wide range of people.
Shepherd’s Bush Contemporary Art Space will become a local talking point and a new hub of contemporary art in the Capital. The feel will be of a gallery without walls, London’s first permanent outdoor urban art space. It would have a high quality programme of contemporary art accessible to all with a variety of projects by local and international artists based upon an imaginative and dynamic programme ranging from sculpture to installation and film. An ambitious programme curated specifically for the space. A website would be launched to initiate the project and accompany the reconstruction of the Green and the Town Centre. Shepherd’s Bush Contemporary Art Space would begin to change the public’s perception of the ‘nature’ of the Green without destroying it. It would reactivate the Green, creating a vital social area and redefining it as a dynamic cultural symbol.