Gatwick Road Micropark
2022
The design celebrates the everyday life of Gatwick Road Parade — a hub of cafés, shops and local businesses. The aim was to create a new accessible ‘meeting place’ for people to use in groups or as individuals. To achieve this, the micropark introduces fun, social seating such as the loungers and diner‑style benches, encouraging people to stop, chat or simply take a break.
New planting helps protect the roots of the nine mature trees while improving the look and feel of the space. Distinctive stepping‑stone paths formalise the desire lines people already use, making movement through the site easier and safer and improved surfacing ties the whole space together.
Highly visible from Gatwick Road, this micropark adds character, greenery and a sense of welcome to the northern end of the Parade a small but vibrant spot that reflects the evolving story of Manor Royal.
The site is located at the northern end of the Gatwick Road Parade at the intersection of Gatwick Road and Rutherford Way. Zone 5 (Purple)
The public artwork is called “The Heritage Garden” and is formed of a series of tall slender coloured poles, which reference that the site was once woodland, or immediately adjacent to woods as shown by historical maps.
To promote social interaction and conversation, and to further celebrate the heritage of the area, some of the poles have embedded content that tells the story of the place and its people. Some poles have dates on them while others display facts about the area and serve to highlight elements of Manor Royal’s history and unique story.
Artist: Dallas - Pierce - Quintero (DPQ)
Historical maps show that this application’s site area was once woodland, or immediately adjacent to woods. This site specific reference has inspired the tall slender elements of the artwork, which are representative of the traditional form of woodland management known as ‘coppicing’, further celebrating the Manor Royal’s local heritage.
