Architects get sinking feeling about proposed A4 bridge

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Scheme to connect Hammersmith with the river

A group of architects put their heads together at a London Festival of Architecture last week and came up with the idea to reconnect Hammersmith to the river by sinking the A4 below ground.

The architects envisaged the A4 would go underground from the Hogarth roundabout to Hammersmith Town Centre.

Other ideas included: raising Stamford Brook to the surface; using space under the A4 elevated section to create new pedestrian boulevards; rejuvenating of Apollo Square and St Paul's Green; and using council-owned space to open out a better approach to Hammersmith Bridge.

The architects argue that sinking the A4 would allow

the reconnection of the communities cut off from the river. They claimed that while it would cost around £4,000/sqm to lower the road, around £3,000/sqm could be recovered from the development rights for the 'new' space created at ground level.

One of the schemes, devised by Hugh Broughton Architects (HBA), called for Stamford Brook to resurface in the new plaza planned for the space currently occupied by the Town Hall extension which will be produced by the Helical Bar/Grainger King Street scheme.

Raising the brook would tie in with a recent announcement by London Mayor Boris Johnson about raising rivers all over London. Running Stamford Brook and running it to join with Hammersmith Creek ( also raised to the surface) along Nigel Playfair Avenue to the river would also remind people of the presence of the Thames just a couple of hundred yards away.

Adam Knight, of HBA said: "A version of this where the connection to the river is by a surface level crossing across the A4 would not only be cheaper than (Helical Bar's) proposed Bridge into Furnival Gardens, but more likely to restore the river connection. People will be much more inclined to go to the river by a surface level route, than to climb two storeys".

Helical Bar's proposed bridge involves raising the level of Nigel Playfair Avenue to around the second floor level of the listed Town Hall building, continuing at that level over the A4, and slicing off 120m of Furnival Gardens for the down ramp on the south side of the A4.

Alex Lifschutz, who co-ordinated the workshop, supported HBA's ideas strongly.

He said: "I've spoken to a respected transport adviser, who says surface level crossings of the A4 at this point are perfectly feasible."

Nine Hammersmith architecture practices collaborated in the workshop on June 23, which was part of the London Festival of Architecture. The workshop was the key activity in the 'Hammersmith Satellite Hub' for the Festival, who's five main hubs are all in Central London.

July 3, 2008