New City Court 1

London, UK

MRG Studio are working with AHMM Architects on proposals for New City Court on St Thomas Street. Our proposal consists of creating approximately 1,900m2 of new public space at ground floor level consisting of two new public squares that will provide 1,300m2 of outdoor civic recreational space, as well as public passages and yards.

The two new large public squares are located in strategic locations where pedestrian flow rates into and out of the site will be the highest. King’s Head Square at the back of the London Bridge LUL exit will provide the largest public space on site, and incorporates south facing seating with a view of the listed Old Kings Head Pub. Trees will be placed in strategic locations where they enhance the setting of the adjacent listed buildings whilst maintaining pedestrian movement through desire lines.

St Thomas Street Square will be activated by the listed Georgian and Keats House retail offerings which both have the opportunity for external seating on raised platforms.

The landscape design also proposes a new indoor subtropical garden at Level 5, which will be open to the public. All internal conditions will need to be controlled – soil, light (artificial and natural), air (temperature, movement and humidity) and water. We have been developing these in close coordination with architecture and engineering from the earliest stages of concept design so that they can be incorporated into the building’s fabric and structure integrally and sustainably.