East has released a fresh set of visualisations showing its proposed transformation of Oxford Street into a pedestrian-focused public realm. The images arrive shortly before traffic is due to be removed from the major London shopping street later this month.
The architecture studio is leading the first phase of the programme with landscape architecture practice JL Gibbons and urban design studios Gehl and Publica. The team’s work brings together public-realm design, landscape planning and urban movement expertise for one of the capital’s most prominent retail corridors.
The newly published material provides the latest view of how Oxford Street could change as space currently used by vehicles is reassigned for pedestrians. East presented the images in coverage published by Dezeen.
For urban designers and property professionals in Latvia, the scheme is a closely watched example of the difficult balance involved in redesigning high-footfall commercial streets. Pedestrianisation can alter circulation, street activity and the relationship between retail frontages and public space, making the design of the transition as consequential as the final streetscape.