Royal Parks Skyspace

Brief

To better deal with the increasing number of planning applications for very tall buildings in central London that would change the landscape character of the Inner Royal Parks.

Details

Rather than object to each proposal individually, we carried out extensive fieldwork to establish the areas where views out were a material factor in determining the character of that landscape. We identified areas of high sensitivity to intrusion by distant tall buildings - typically these were areas where a rural character provided a contrast to the surrounding metropolis, or where a landscape and its views had been specifically designed - then mapped the skyspace needed to safeguard these areas from building intrusion. Our work informed The Royal Parks policy on tall buildings and formed the basis of evidence we gave on their behalf at the Examination in Public on The Mayor’s Views Management Framework. Our report was awarded the ‘European Union  Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Medal’ in 2003.