It’s easy to sit back look at something in hindsight and say “I told you so”. Well I’m not guilty of that, because I never shared my feelings to anybody else, but my unease seems to have been vindicated.
The matter in question was the building of “London’s newest tourist attraction”, or “London’s newest expensive white elephant” as it will probably be known. It is in fact called the Marble Arch Mound.
In a climate of post Covid high street depression Westminster Council quite rightly started looking at ways to increase footfall around the Oxford Street area. To say that their solution was thinking out of the box is a bit of an understatement. They were persuaded to part with a sum in the region of £2 million for the Dutch firm of architects MVRDV to build a temporary mound next to Marble arch.
Once plans were published the rumblings of disquiet started to be heard. Originally those crazy Dutch guys who work for MVRDV wanted to completely bury Marble Arch beneath the temporary mound for the full six months of the project. Luckily common sense finally won the day thanks to several conservation experts helpfully pointing out that shrouding the almost 200-year-old stone structure in total darkness for six months could risk weakening the mortar joints, leading to potential collapse.
The mound is designed as a green space with a viewing platform to allow the punters to gain a unique view of Oxford Street and the Edgware Road, being relieved of between £4.50-£8.00 in the process! The brain (?) behind this concept piece is Winy Maas who in 2004 wanted to bury the Serpentine Gallery under a similar structure designed to be supported by a steel frame, rather than scaffolding used at Marble Arch, the budget spiralled out of control and the scheme was scrapped.
I don’t want to get into the artistic merits of such a project, but I will say that I’m not someone who hates to see the juxtaposition of the new and the old in London, but what annoys me is the hype, if that is what it can be called that surrounded the project. I’ll not launch into a diatribe about it’s merits, I’ll just add some photos of the mound now that it’s open and let you make up your own mind.
MVRDV impression 
Reality
“The attraction will allow people to enjoy and understand Marble Arch in a way that has not previously been possible and also to appreciate the park in its correct setting“. (official website)
Yes I can now see the top of the arch.
The press info also said the deck would offer “360-degree views down Oxford Street and into the park”.
Oxford Street and the tree that stands in front of it
“Stunning Views of the park” (little patch of green centre background)
I could go on, but I think the most striking is the photo of the mound taken today, as Westminster Council scrapped the entrance fees and now face a barrage of questions from their opposing Labour councillors over the fiasco of the Marble Arch Mound, or as it’s now been christened “The Slag Heap“.
“They’re not just coming to Oxford Street for the shops any more. People are interested in experiences and destinations. The pandemic has seen around 17% of stores on London’s most famous shopping street close completely“, said Deputy Council Leader Melvyn Caplan, adding “You have to give people a reason to come to an area”. Perversely this could be true and visitor numbers may rise over the next few weeks, but probably not for the reasons that the council and MVRDV envisaged.
A LONDON MISCELLANY 