Exhibition Road closes for grand opening

Following two years of construction, Exhibition Road closed last Wednesday for its grand opening led by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. ‘No parking’ signs were put up in advance and the event saw a day long closure marking the opening of the brand new signature road running through the “intellectual capital of London”, South Kensington, as described by Prince Albert.

The road’s transformation was an effort by Dixon Jones after winning an international competition for design and masterplanning held by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, whose proposal included stripping the road of its narrow pavements and creating a kerb-free patterned surface that would extend the entire length and width of the road.

The changes were completed in late 2011 following over 10 years of planning, giving pedestrians more space, limiting vehicles to a speed of 20mph and removing all the road signs and clutter. The £30m improvements feature new lighting in the form of tall metal spires. This ties in with the recent renovations made to the V&A and the Science Museum with Union President Scott Heath commenting that he thinks “it looks brilliant”.

A metallic elephant was erected and was an integral part of the parade which followed. On the Mayor of London’s arrival, a brief speech was made and the parade began in earnest. Boris Johnson cut the ribbon to denote the road’s official opening and proceeded to the Imperial College Business School to continue to a closed audience, after announcing that “Imperial is one of the greatest universities in the world”.

The event was, however, met with minor resistance, with protestors wielding placards bearing messages such as “Who pays for this jamboree? The taxpayer!” and “Why celebrate this dangerous shared space?” Deputy President (Education) Jason Parmar responded: “I think the road is very exquisite, however there are a few health and safety concerns raised, but I think the council will address it in due course”.

Protestors, who included students from Imperial College, were promptly ejected from the Business School upon entry, with a security guard commenting that he was “asked by College to evict them because they didn’t want them in [there]”, adding “they were on private property, it was a private function, so we had the right to”.

Mr Johnson’s speech in the Business School detailed the collaborative efforts which went into the design and construction of the road, the academic and cultural nature of the surroundings as well as its historic value. The speech was interrupted by a fire alarm, which Mr Johnson took in his stride and exclaimed “it might be a fire in the labs”.

Jason Parmar provided further thoughts to Felix on the interruption, saying: “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was malicious, it’s a real shame”. Nevertheless, the speech continued despite health and safety regulations.

Exhibition Road returned to full operation following the event.