Feilden Fowles and J & L Gibbons have unveiled plans to overhaul the gardens at London's Natural History Museum to create a hub for education and biodiversity called the Urban Nature Project.
The Urban Nature Project will involve the redesign of two hectares of land around the iconic 19th-century building by Alfred Waterhouse, alongside the construction of two low-lying, stone-clad pavilions.
Feilden Fowles and J & L Gibbons' aim is to maximise the biodiversity and accessibility of the museum's grounds and, in turn, invite people living in and visiting the capital to re-engage with nature.
Above: the Urban Nature Project's Garden Building. Top image: a visual of the Learning Centre
"The Urban Nature Project is a dream commission, embodying so many of our team's social and environmental values," said Edmund Fowles, director of Feilden Fowles. "Never has the need to re-engage with nature and understand our impact on biodiversity been more urgent," he explained.
"Together with the transformation of the museum's five-acre gardens, two new pavilions embedded within the landscape will provide much-needed facilities to broaden access and engagement with the vital messages of the project."
The stone-clad Garden Building references Victorian orangeries
The scheme is divided into two gardens, positioned to the east and west of the museum's entrance, which will be landscaped to offer a brief overview of natural history and encourage local biodiver...