London’s most exciting new parks sit atop a £4.6 billion “Super Sewer”

Meanwhile, at Bazalgette – named after Joseph Bazalgette, the civil engineer who built London’s first sewer system – visitors will enjoy a constellation of sculptural installations by Glaswegian artist Nathan Coley. Some of these black concrete structures double as water fountains, drowning out the noise from the nearby road. Others can transform into a stage for buskers.

Tim Crocker

Few people would guess the concrete and industrial steel lurking beneath these parks, but curious minds can spot some clues in the form of manholes and circular brick patterns poetically marking the location of each shaft below. Perhaps most visible are the black cast-iron ventilation shafts that twist and rise skyward. These are functional vortex columns that help the air escape from below, but they look like contemporary art sculptures, with poem verses engraved on their side. “They’re inspired by the movement of the water,” says Clare Donnelly, Tideway’s lead architect at Fereday Pollard, the firm in charge of coordinating the new structures.

Though engineers might disagree, the real attraction isn’t the sewer infrastructure, but the new, first-of-their-kind pockets of greenery now sprouting above ground. To date, seven parks have opened, with four more set to open by the end of the year. Some are so new that residents haven’t yet clocked their existence. “I’ve heard of the Thames Tideway but didn’t realise they were creating parks or public spaces over the works,” said Melissa Woolford, an architect who lives in West London. “It’s clever, I will be visiting with my family soon.”

Rob Parrish

Others have been involved from the beginning. Chris Romer-Lee, a designer who advocates for swimmable cities around the world, acknowledged the improved connection between Londoners and the river, “the lifeblood of the city,” but called the once-in-a-lifetime project a missed opportunity to integrate floating baths like in Copenhagen, Berlin, Vienna, and soon, with the +Pool in New York City.

For now, we will have to contend with new perspectives on the river. At Bazalgette, the team has cut a small portion of the river wall, allowing visitors walking along the north bank to seamlessly merge into the space. Luckily, the team has kept many of the quintessentially London, Victorian lampposts that have lined the river wall for more than 150 years. “If you think about Monet painting pictures of the Thames, there’s always the river and the marching of the lampposts on the side, and then the trees behind,” says Donnelly.

Not far from the incision in the wall, one of the bronze lions, lovingly restored and placed back in its socket, lies in wait. Wait a few years, and its snout will surely be polished by curious little hands rubbing it with glee.