Few public spaces in central London are as unlikely as Brown Hart Gardens. The raised garden sits on top of an electricity substation on Duke Street, a short walk from the crowds on Oxford Street. It first opened in 1906, closed on and off for decades, and its recent overhaul now reopens with a new pavilion and terrace by Studio Ageli.
From tenement garden to substation roof
The site began as a communal London garden for working-class housing. Many avoided it, and the design struggled to attract the people it was meant to serve.
The Duke Street Electricity Substation sits on the site. The deck is an elevated Neo-Classical platform, bookended by domed pavilions. The garden has been closed to the public on and off since 1906.
Rooftop gardens above London’s older buildings are becoming a theme of their own, and a hotel conversion is turning one famous tower into a similar green escape. London’s Iconic BT Tower Rooftop Oasis Hotel Plan shows how a city landmark can be reimagined for public life.
A pavilion that stays, a garden that leads
Studio Ageli, led by founder Mohammed Ageli, worked on the brown hart gardens redesign on behalf of the Beaumont Mayfair hotel, which sits next door. The project falls within the Grosvenor Estate. Its aim was to add greenery and lightness to a space above a Grade II-listed piece of infrastructure that had been underused for years.
The overhaul kept more of the old building than the scale of the change suggests. About 75 per cent of the pavilion’s main structure and its primary roof remain. Later additions were stripped away, and the original Portland stone was cleaned and highlighted.
Ageli framed the scheme around the garden first. “Our starting point was the garden, rather than the pavilion in isolation,” he said. “We wanted to explore how a lighter, more open intervention could improve the relationship between the two, so that the building and garden work in harmony and become a useful asset for the wider community.”
He describes the pavilion as an anchor rather than a centrepiece. It grounds the garden and the public square, and it has its own identity without competing with the planting. The garden remains the larger civic space, and the building exists to bring people in while keeping the site open to the public.
Landscape architect and horticulturalist Nigel Dunnett, who has since died, and Landscape Agency shaped the planting for the garden redesign. Landform delivered the build. Archiclad supplied the curved stainless steel soffit and fascia panels, a frameless glazed façade, aluminium doors and perforated aluminium panels. Okta Construction served as main contractor.
Pearl Mayfair fills the pavilion
Inside the pavilion, Pearl Mayfair is now open. The restaurant connects to the Beaumont and serves elevated Mediterranean cooking under culinary director Lisa Goodwin-Allen. The menu offers small and large plates drawing on Italy, Spain and Greece. EPR Architect designed the interiors.
The terrace takes its cues from Milanese piazzas and Riviera promenades, and it spills onto the reworked garden. Service runs from breakfast through lunch and late-afternoon aperitivo to family dinners.
The terrace and pavilion here share a sense of shelter in the middle of the city, much like a small timber structure in a rural setting. Wooden Pavilion Offering a Quiet Rest Spot in Nara is worth a look for a very different take on a place to pause outdoors.
What the brown hart gardens redesign offers visitors
The brown hart gardens redesign reopens to the public. It sits on Duke Street. Studio Ageli’s portfolio, including a 1:200 model of the site, is available at studioageli.co.uk.
A garden that once divided the people it was built for now sits above a substation with an open door. The real test will be whether the neighbours who avoided it a century ago choose to linger there now.
H/T wallpaper.com
Frequently asked questions
When did Brown Hart Gardens first open to the public?
Brown Hart Gardens first opened in 1906. The garden has been closed to the public on and off since then.
Which studio designed the Brown Hart Gardens redesign?
Studio Ageli, led by founder Mohammed Ageli, designed the redesign on behalf of the Beaumont Mayfair hotel, which sits next door. The project falls within the Grosvenor Estate.
What restaurant is inside the Brown Hart Gardens pavilion?
Pearl Mayfair is the restaurant inside the pavilion, and it connects to the Beaumont hotel. It serves elevated Mediterranean cooking under culinary director Lisa Goodwin-Allen.
How much of the original pavilion was kept during the overhaul?
About 75 per cent of the pavilion’s main structure and its primary roof remain. Later additions were stripped away, and the original Portland stone was cleaned and highlighted.
More in
Architecture
All Architecture
More like this
Transforming Office Atriums: From Functional Spaces to Community Hubs
SpY's 20-Meter Black Triangle Hides Madrid's Cibeles Square Behind Surveillance Feeds
Five Fairground Dioramas Let Visitors Hear Public Space at London's Osh Gallery
Design Doha's Five Commissions Revive Falaj, Salsabil and Dhow Forms for Public Shade
Revitalising Sydney's Waterfront: How 3XN GXN's Design Transformed the Sydney Fish Market
