Professional Practice
Highgate Competition: Conserving and Enhancing a World-Famous Cemetery
Date: 12/14/2020 - 1/13/2021
Type: Competitions / Awards
Location(s): International
Description:
Highgate Cemetery is launching two open competitions to find the best talents in landscape design and architecture to conserve and enhance this world-famous site, the resting place of many well-known people.
Our 2019 Conservation Plan made clear that the Cemetery needed to adapt to the new demands of the twenty-first century. We are looking for a landscape vision that will provide a blueprint for managing the Cemetery over the next twenty-five years.
Whilst the Cemetery retains its enchanting atmosphere, its monuments are under threat from long-term decay and maturing self-seeded trees. The trees themselves are increasingly stressed by climate change and afflicted by new pests and diseases. More extreme weather is eroding gravel paths and overwhelming the historic drainage systems. All this is undermining the historic landscape design and reducing biodiversity.
Our aim is to ensure that the trees, paths, monuments and buildings will be better looked after, the Cemetery will continue to function as an active burial ground and visiting will be easier and more rewarding.
The two competitions are open to landscape architects and to architects respectively, and multi-disciplinary landscape, architecture and design practices may choose to enter both competitions.