London's Park within Elephant Park — LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AOTEAROA

Gillespies’ Park within Elephant Park is the centrepiece of the regeneration project by Lendlease and Southwark Council. It forms a two-acre green haven in the heart of London’s zone one.

Gillespies were the public realm masterplanners for the entire development, and landscape architect for several plots including the new centrepiece park, which includes large lawns, rain gardens, pedestrian walkways and a landmark water playscape all nestled within naturalistic planting.

“The Park at the centre of Elephant Park is a spectacular green oasis at the heart of the ground-breaking revitalisation of Elephant & Castle,” say Gillespies. “The park is an inclusive and sustainable community space offering everyone unforgettable social and recreational experiences and an opportunity to slow down and connect with nature.”

The gardens are a multi-sensory experience, with new habitats for wildlife and advanced capability for managing rainwater. The rain gardens mean the urban site can mimic nature’s water cycle and are therefore less reliant on surrounding networks. They are designed for climate change and its effect on rainfall, making the park ready to cope with 100-year frequency storm events.

The park forms a two-acre green haven in the heart of London’s zone one.

Gardens offer pockets of colour, height, scent and texture, attracting wildlife including birds, bees and butterflies. The wider planting strategy is a mixture of native and non-native species for diversity and spatially-complex planting cover, which studies suggest has the most significant impact on supporting biodiversity.

Gillespies retained 27 mature, existing trees for their role in carbon fixing and storage. Their canopy cools the air, mitigates pollution and provides habitats for wildlife.

Gillespies were the public realm masterplanners for the entire development.

Within the park, Elephant Springs has been created from 300 tons of Italian porphyry stone, which is hard-wearing and slip resistant even when wet. It forms a rocky, water-world of fountains, waterfalls and sandy beaches, suitable for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy.

The Park within Elephant Park has won numerous awards, including a 2022 ROSPA Play Safety Award for Publicly Accessible Playgrounds, a 2022 Silver World Architecture News WAN award for Urban Landscape, and Public Space of the Year from the 2022 Developer Magazine Pineapple Awards.

The new centrepiece park includes large lawns, rain gardens, pedestrian walkways and a landmark water playscape.

“The quality of the design, diversity of users, and proximity to transport links is already attracting visitors from far and wide, increasing investment in the area and adding to its already rich culture,” say the designers.

“Surrounded by a unique mix of local and independent restaurants, cafes and shops, the Park truly caters for the broad diversity and demographic of Elephant & Castle.”