Construction industry gossip: Earthly goings on

By Joseph Aloysius Hansom2022-01-21T07:00:00

The famous £6m mound of mud on Oxford Street is finally to be flattened – or is it?

Soiled goods

Farewell, then, the Marble Arch Mound, the 25m artificial hill cum tourist attraction made from piled earth that opened last summer on London’s Oxford Street in an effort to bring shoppers back to the West End after lockdown. Drawn up by Dutch architect MVRDV, it nearly doubled in budget, was panned for its spindly trees and general sense of dereliction and this month caused a furore when it emerged the man in charge of it was paid more than the chief executive of Westminster council who thought it up. The temporary structure, which reportedly cost £6m, is now being dismantled but the council revealed that nearly 250,000 people came to see it, proving, again, there’s no such thing as bad news. Mud, in this case, doesn’t stick.

…

Already registered? Login here

To continue enjoying Building.co.uk, sign up for free guest access

Existing subscriber? LOGIN

Stay at the forefront of thought leadership with news and analysis from award-winning journalists. Enjoy company features, CEO interviews, architectural reviews, technical project know-how and the latest innovations.

Limited access to building.co.uk
Breaking industry news as it happens
Breaking, daily and weekly e-newsletters

Get your free guest access SIGN UP TODAY

Subscribe now for unlimited access

Subscribe to Building today and you will benefit from:

Unlimited access to all stories including expert analysis and comment from industry leaders
Our league tables, cost models and economics data
Our online archive of over 10,000 articles
Building magazine digital editions
Building magazine print editions
Printed/digital supplements

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

View our subscription options and join our community