Scheme to restore park’s Victorian features including its listed dinosaur sculptures and Italian Terraces
HTA Design has unveiled the first phase of its plans to restore Crystal Palace Park, including its grade I-listed dinosaur sculptures.
Bromley council appointed the practice in June last year to the £17.5m scheme, which aims to refresh many of the historic features of the Victorian park.
Plans have now been submitted for the first phase, which will focus on the Tidal Lakes area and the Italian Terraces which surround the site where the Crystal Palace once stood.
Donald Insall Associates is also on the project team as heritage architect with Tate & Co designing some of the scheme’s newbuild elements.
The facelift aims to restore the original design vision of Joseph Paxton, who designed the now grade II*-listed park in the 1850s.
Key to the initial phase is the restoration of the 30 dinosaur sculptures and 14 geological illustrations installed in 1854, which are now in urgent need of repair and surrounded by undergrowth.
> Also read: Building archives: The Crystal Palace’s leaking roof, 1851
HTA’s plans will see the removal of these layers of overgrown vegetation and sediment built over time to reveal original features, and introduce a new layer of rock outcrops, gravel formations and “paleo-inspired” planting.
An information centre, a dinosaur-themed play area, a new maintenance building and a feature entrance at Penge Gate will also be built under the plans.
The park’s grade II-listed Italian Terrace walls, which have gradually fallen into disrepair since the Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire in 1936, will also be restored and paired with new planting.
The project team also includes project manager Leadenhall PM Ltd, structural engineer Alan Baxter, accessibility consultant Lord Consulting and civil engineer Pell Frischmann.
No comments yet