V&A Museum Entrance / AL_A. Image © Hufton + Crow
Tristram Hunt—director of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)—has expressed concern about one of the city’s most successful semi-pedestrianized zones: Exhibition Road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. As reported by The Art Newspaper, Hunt has argued that the traffic arrangements are “confusing, dangerous and unsatisfactory”. His answer, following a traffic collision on October 7, 2017, which injured 11 people, is to fully pedestrianize the area.
Exhibition Road, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Image via Google Earth
With the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, and Imperial College London in close proximity, the area—known locally as “Albertopolis”—was redeveloped five years ago to become “a shared space for vehicles and walkers.” A new entrance to the V&A designed by AL_A was recently opened in the vicinity of the road. The incident and Hunt’s concerns raise questions about the ways in which cities can safely redevelop high-density urban areas.
You can read the article in full, here.
V&A Museum / AL_A
29 Engineers (SMEP) Quantity Surveyor Lighting Designer Giles Quarme & Associates Planning Consultant Project Manager Main contractor Specialist AWS Contractor Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum – porcelain tiles; Octatube – oculus; Midland Alloy – Aston Webb Screen gates; Astins – gallery ceiling; EE Stairs – gallery staircase; Cornish Concrete – stepped terrace;