A digital rendering shows a cityscape with a wide highway curving through the scene. Tall buildings stand in the background. A bridge crosses over the road, and abstract art decorates a large wall on the right. Sparse greenery lines the highway.
Forgotten Spaces

Forgotten Spaces

London, England

2011

Clients   Design For London, RIBA
This project explores the linked sequence of spaces at the confluence of Regents Canal, the elevated sections of the A40 between Paddington Green and Meanwhile Gardens and The Great Western Railway approaches to Paddington Station. 

‘I’m up and down the Westway, in an’ out the lights. What a great traffic system - it’s so bright I can’t think of a better way to spend the night Then speeding around underneath the yellow lights’

London's Burning, Strummer/Jones 1979

A map of land plots and transportation routes in London, showcasing detailed urban planning, with architecture by MOXON Architects.

The overlap of water, fixed rail and automotive transport at Royal Oak in West London is at once one of the most exhilarating and neglected urban compositions in Central London. 

By its own merits the mega structure of the A40 Westway, opened in July 1970, must be one of the more beautiful additions to London in the 20th century; however as The Clash sardonically alluded the form is by no means matched by the mundane nature of most people’s experience of it and its immediate environment.

Urban railway bridge with diagonal orange safety fencing, green surroundings, and supporting pillars, architecture by MOXON Architects.

This is all the more extraordinary given the location of this formal nexus; between the economically self-assured neighbourhoods of Notting Hill and Maida Vale – an area with amongst the highest property values in the UK.

 Starting at the edge of the Paddington Basin Development and ending at the Trellick Tower, this proposal identifies 8 sites suitable for the development of community, private or commercial interventions. The development of all the sites is considered as one single operation where constraints on one site can be alleviated by the development of an adjacent site.

Abstract architectural plan with colorful geometric elements and a complex layout, architecture by MOXON Architects.
Abstract architectural illustration of a futuristic, floating structure with sleek, curved lines and transparent elements set against a clear sky. The design appears modern and innovative.
A long, curved, elevated track structure set against a clear blue sky. The modern design features white panels and supporting beams, suggesting a futuristic transportation system or architectural element.

Despite the obvious shortcomings of land below and adjacent to the viaduct, there are opportunities for useful concentrations of built volume intermingled with the infrastructure, and if these sites can be exploited to their maximum potential – perhaps requiring the quid pro quo development of community and landscape interventions - new concentrations of activity could be inserted. 

The proposal transforms the study area into useful and robust piece of city that takes full advantage of the glamorous and beautiful spaces provided by the three transport routes while imbuing them with a variegated and rich set of new functions.

Six architectural sketches of building designs, including perspectives, layouts, and interior plans, with architecture by MOXON Architects.
A modern urban scene featuring a tall, white building with minimalistic graffiti, adjacent to an elevated highway. Below, railroad tracks extend into the distance, and small groups of people are scattered around the area.
Modern architectural structure with a curved overhanging roof, glass railings, graffiti art, and people on a balcony, architecture by MOXON Architects.
A long, modern underpass featuring large, intricate murals on its walls. People are walking and admiring the artwork. The setting is urban, with concrete pathways and a clear sky above.
Modern architecture with layered structures, graffiti details, and greenery, designed by MOXON Architects.
A street view under a large concrete overpass with graffiti art on the wall, pedestrians, trees, and urban elements, architecture by MOXON Architects.

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