How the mail rail tunnels could look under plans put forward by Fletcher Priest
Published: 16 October, 2012
By JOSH LOEB
THIS is the first look at what the first ever subterranean “mushroom park” could look like if a quirky scheme proposed for Fitzrovia is turned into a reality.
Architect plans for a fungal garden have been shortlisted in a competition to find adventurous new ideas for bringing abandoned industrial infrastructure back into use.
The imaginative designs drawn up by Camden-based firm Fletcher Priest demonstrate how mothballed Mail Rail tunnels just north of Oxford Street could be rejuvenated as an underground garden for growing mushrooms.
They were shortlisted from over 170 entries as part of a contest run by the Mayor of London in conjunction with the Landscape Institute and Garden Museum.
Entitled 'A High Line for London', the contest sought ideas drawing inspiration from a successful scheme in New York in which a derelict elevated railway line was converted into a new urban park full of wildflowers and art.
Nick Worley, an architect who was involved in creating the fungus park plans, said the dark, damp environment of the tunnels, which were abandoned over a decade ago, was perfect for sporing toadstools, puffballs and edible mushrooms.
Limited natural light would be let in via sculptural glass-fibre mushrooms at street level and there would be a walkway for visitors.
Mr Worley said: “The idea was to have a linear park with a restaurant at either end serving dishes made from produce grown in the park. Mushrooms were a natural fit. The captivating thing about the idea is that it could be applied to any underground space. The major problem with schemes like this is showing how to let natural light in, and we have done that.”
He added that his firm were in the process of trying to identify partners with a view to one day making the park a reality.
