Exhibition Roadis a street inSouth Kensington,Londonwhich is home to several major museums and academic establishments, including theVictoria and Albert Museum,theScience Museumand theNatural History Museum.
 Exhibition Road following opening ofshared spacescheme during 2012 | |
| Former name(s) | Prince's Gate[1] |
|---|---|
| Namesake | The Great Exhibition |
| Location | Albertopolis,Westminster,London,United Kingdom |
| Postal code | SW7 |
| Nearest Tube station |  South Kensington |
| Coordinates | 51°29′56.3″N0°10′27.3″W/ 51.498972°N 0.174250°W |
| North end | Hyde Park(Alexandra Gate),Kensington Road |
| Major junctions | Imperial College Road,Cromwell Road |
| South end | Thurloe Street,South Kensington tube station |
| Other | |
| Known for | Imperial College London,Science Museum,V&A,Natural History Museum |
Overview
editThe road gets its name from theGreat Exhibitionof 1851, which was held just insideHyde Parkat the northern end of the road. After the central road in the area,Queen's Gate,it is the second thoroughfare in what was onceAlbertopolis.
It provides access to many nationally significant institutions, including:
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Science Museum
- Natural History Museum(which incorporates the formerGeological Museum)
- Royal Geographical Society,at the north end inKensington Gore
- Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum,at the north end in Princes Gate
- Imperial College London(directly and viaImperial College Road)
- Pepperdine UniversityAbroad
- Jagiellonian University London Study Centrein thePolish Hearth Club[2]
- LondonGoethe Institute
- The Hyde Park Chapel ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Shared space
editA design competition for plans of how to improve the street's design to reflect its cultural importance was held in 2003 by theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.The competition was won by the architectural firmDixon Jonesfor ashared spacescheme for the road and surrounding streets which would give pedestrians greater priority whilst still allow some vehicular traffic at a reduced speed.[3] [4]The project also aimed to improve the artistic and architectural merit of the streetscape.[5]The scheme was completed ahead of the2012 London Olympics.[6]Since the completion of the revised streetscape, its design has been criticised for increasing the accident rate in the locale, with reported conflict between motor vehicles and pedestrians due to the unified surface design across Exhibition Road.[7]
Gallery
edit-
South ofThurloe PlacenearSouth Kensington tube station -
Looking south prior to theshared-space scheme -
TheNatural History Museumand winterice rink -
Museum Lane separates the Natural History and Science museums -
TheV&Aand the shared-space scheme -
-
The main entrance ofImperial College London -
-
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Ordnance Survey."XLII (City Of Westminster; Kensington; Paddington)"(1869). London (First Editions c1850s). National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 21 Dec 2019.
- ^Jagiellonian University London Study Centre
- ^"Albertopolis: 2012 Map of Dixon Jones scheme".RIBA.Archivedfrom the original on 7 April 2012.Retrieved18 December2010.
- ^Rowan Moore (29 January 2012)."Exhibition Road, London – review".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2023.
- ^"The Exhibition Road Project".Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Archived fromthe originalon 18 September 2018.Retrieved18 September2018.
- ^"Albertopolis: 2012 Architect's impressions".RIBA.Archived fromthe originalon 7 April 2012.Retrieved18 December2010.
- ^Zorzut, Adrian (5 August 2023)."People 'can't tell road from path' on one of London's most famous streets".MyLondon.Archivedfrom the original on 7 August 2023.Retrieved7 August2023.
External links
edit
- Albertopolis: South Kensington from aboveHistory, architecture and future plans, from theRoyal Institute of British Architects
- A Vision for Exhibition Road: A Space for the New CenturyandExhibition Road Trailfrom theVictoria and Albert Museum
- Exhibition Road is rebornfrom theEvening Standard,dated 27 March 2008
- Discover South Kensingtonactivities and cultural events
- Road users mingle in naked schemefrom theBBC,dated 6 January 2005