MAKING THE CONNECTION
The high street in Brentford was failing with decreasing footfall and shops closing. However, a ten minute walk along the River Brent is the 'Golden Mile', a section of the Great West Road (A4) where thousands of people work in a number of large companies such as GlaxoSmithKline. The brief was to create a legible and stimulating route along the canalised River Brent to encourage more people to walk and cycle into the town centre.
Our approach was to develop a series of spaces that are activated with cultural and social events to entice movement between the different communities in Brentford. Proposals include a floating cinema in the canal sheds along the river and a re-vitalised farmers market along Brentford High Street.
Indepth engagement was carried out with the local community and proposals were advertised in a newspaper and website. The constructed interventions include a reconfigured and improved plaza, new path surface and letting more light into the existing canal shed along the path through replacing cladding with patterned screens.
Whilst at Kinnear Landscape Architects / 2012 / Brentford / client: London Borough of Hounslow / value: £800k / collaborators: Meanwhile Space and the Decorators