Opening on July 26, Marble Arch Mound is a temporary installation at Marble Arch. The hollowed-out hill, designed by MVRDV, is based on a scaffolding structure and will offer views of Hyde Park.
The visitor attraction is part of Westminster City Council’s ambitious plans to reinvent Oxford Street. The mound was created in order to encourage shoppers to return to the area as retail recovers from COVID-19.
“This project is a wonderful opportunity to give an impulse to a highly recognisable location in London,” said MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “It’s a location full of contradictions, and our design highlights that.
Marble Arch attraction designed by MVRDV
“By adding this landscape element, we make a comment on the urban layout of the Marble Arch, and by looking to the site’s history, we make a comment on the area’s future.”
“We enlarge the park and lift it at the corner. Marble Arch Hill strengthens the connection between Oxford Street and the park via the Marble Arch,” Maas added.
Commissioned by Westminster City Council, Marble Arch Mound visitors can climb to the peak via a path where they will find a viewing deck overlooking Oxford Street and Hyde Park.
Lightfield exhibition at Marble Arch Mound
On their way down the, guests will enter the heart of the attraction, which will serve as a café, shop and exhibition space. The mound will also feature a light exhibition called ‘Lightfield’.
“Lightfield consists of 12 cubes that allude to the mycorrhizal nature of birch tree forests,” said artist Anthony James.
“This is the first time my work has been displayed and viewed in this fully immersive way, installed within an infinity room that transports visitors into another world to create a meditative and limitless narrative.”
The Marble Arch Mound will be open to visitors through January 2022.
Images: MVRDV
