You will become aware of this extraordinary building as you walk along the Thames embankments – a green oasis both complementing and contrasting with the solid stonework of the historic Tower of London and Tower Bridge and with the curved glass structures of London’s County Hall. 

The project is called The Hill as that is the shape it will be – a landscaped structure rising out of a Thames-side garden and enclosing a series of large galleries linked by tunnels and caves.  It has no generic name because it will be the first of its type anywhere in the world – a place of total immersion; a catalyst for the imagination; a permanent gallery of installations; a contemporary version of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens; ‘an urban ‘Eden’.

Our design for The Hill will be a 'must see' experience in London, incorporating the need for green space in inner cities - where people picnic and enjoy outdoor recreation and accommodating a world class arts and culture centre.

“The Hill”

Composite

The design for The Hill consists of 4 journeys based on a permeable woven structure of intertwining spaces.

 

The Hill has been inspired by works of art, architecture, design, technology; and landscape as well as by natural forms and structures. It picks up on the popularity of commercial attractions; employs the most cutting-edge of creative and technological capabilities; plugs into what is happening in the fields of science; re-invents the ingenuity of classic forms of illusion and theatrics; and uses the skills of the arts and media to communicate the excitement of discovery – both of the world around and of the world within ourselves.

The techniques on which the project are based have all been used elsewhere.  What we propose is an innovative mix in which the whole is very much more than the sum of its individual parts ‘where the dreams of a new generation can be realized.

The White Space

Zero Gravity

The Spinning Room

Inspiration

music hall

spinning room

frozen room

exhibition space

gallery

exhibition space

Journey 1

exhibition space

theatre

artistsinterpretationspace

theatre

mechanicalperformanceroom

linear ride

theatre

exhibition space

artistsinterpretationspace

drop ride

theatre

artistsinterpretationspace

Journey 2

Journey 3

Where you begin is up to you.  You can wind your way up the outside of The Hill to look at the view before you take the fast route down to slide through a vertical tunnel into the vast central area, filled with people, light, sound, images and activity.  Or you can walk straight into the main space, saving the view for later when you can experience the whole vista in amazing detail from the biggest and most technically advanced Camera Obscura that this country has ever seen.

Three different routes will take you on an exploration of heart, head, and gut reactions to installations designed to stimulate, challenge, tease and entertain  Get lost in a giant mutating technological maze; meet an image of yourself in a hi-tech interpretation of the Hall of Mirrors; find the world turned upside down in the re-invented version of the traditional Spinning Room or compressed as walls, ceiling and floors close in on you inside the White Space. 

The Journeys

viewing terraces

viewing terraces

picnic area

picnic area

picnic area

dog walking

climbing

reading/relaxing

games area

kids tumbling

taking photosplay areas

sunbathing“horseye downe” gardens

tourists hill

locals hill

“thames walk”

“whistlers walk”

“five foot lane”

“ to

wer

brid

ge”

Landscaping of The Hill – Activity Mapping

Structural Test Model

Schematic Plans; Basement Levels

Ticket Office, Deep inside the Cavern Lower Ground Floor – Loading & Stores

Schematic Plans; Ground Floor – Fifth Floor

The Hill will be designed to accommodate change; with the main rooms / galleries being re-interpreted on a regular basis and special presentations and events being staged in the large central ‘gathering’ area -  all aimed to attract the repeat visits.

Schematic Plans; Sixth Floor – Eleventh Floor

The concept is one of interlinked rooms in which various ‘enabling mechanisms’ are installed supporting a changing series of experiences. The focus on technology allows the installations to be both interactive and easily adapted to the particular audience – within a single day and by creating new works on a regular basis.

The aim is to provide a ‘destination’ experience during the day; a meeting place in the early evening (for the currently neglected after-work audience); and a separate late night experience (when most other venues close).

Schematic Section

Schematic Section

The Hill’s Surface

The Hill’s Surface

Standing in the Void of the Cavern

Standing in the Void of the Cavern

Standing in the Void of the Cavern

Visualising in the ‘Minds Eye’ – edge conditions marked by sound, light and activity.

design team: Professor Kathryn FindlayDoug Allard

specialist input: Lesley McIntyre Sensory Impairment.Michael Williams Design Process.Sarah Brown Parametric Modeller.

ushida findlay @