Reconnecting people to nature through urban recreational landscapes
MA Landscape Architecture major design project
The future of Herne Hill Velodrome is under threat. As an outdoor leisure facility, the pressures of a changing climate are already having an effect, with sessions cancelled in the last year due to extreme heat and rainfall. Saved from closure in 2005 by the community and 2012 Olympic legacy funding, the trust has signed a new lease until 2115, but how will the world look by then?
This project looks at the ecological connections that can enhance the Herne Hill Velodrome landscape to be an urban sanctuary for cyclists, while creating a resilient ecology that forms an ambient microclimate with better air quality for the community. A masterplan that enhances biodiversity and the cycling facility. Invoking a sense of place far beyond the urban sprawl that inspires a connection, value and respect for the natural world.