A rather dingy looking railway bridge near Battersea Power Station has been nominated to be revamped in an open competition for designs.
The aim is to improve the appearance and feel of Thessaly Road Railway Bridge in Nine Elms. The competition, which is open to architects, designers, artists and students, is an opportunity to transform the tired underpass into a more pleasant route for pedestrians and cyclists.
At the moment, there are two raised pedestrian paths on either side of a sunken road. What adds to the gloom apart from the dirty tiles and parked cars, is the sheer length of the underpass, as it runs under the main route between Clapham Junction and Waterloo.
Following a shortlist of six practices to be announced in March, the winning team will be revealed in May and awarded £20,000 to develop a design that will be eligible to be constructed and installed beneath the Thessaly Road Railway Bridge as part of the London Festival of Architecture in 2019.
The overall budget for the project is £200,000.
Detailed information about the design competition – including a detailed competition brief – can be found at www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org.
The deadline for first stage submissions is 23 February 2018.
First thing to go has to be all those parked cars and given its a low bridge permanently closing road will prevent future bridge strikes by overhight lorries.
Perhaps conversion to indoor space might create a new use like a sports hall etc .