Move aside, Robert Smithson! Make way, Walter De Maria, Charles Jencks, Andy Goldsworthy and others! Europe’s greatest example of land art is not located in a remote location, on the grounds of a museum or in a sculpture park. Instead, Northala Fields’ four huge artificial conical mounds – the largest is 26 metres high – lie beside the A40 arterial road in Northolt, west London. Set in a 67-acre public park, the towering earthworks are a popular local attraction and a dramatic landmark, even if the art world has yet to fully grasp their artistic significance.
“We have come up with a project that no one can believe has actually happened,” says Peter Fink, the artist and creative force behind the project, which is located on a flat, dreary, abandoned piece of wasteland outside London. It was officially opened as a park in September 2008 by the Mayor of Ealing, the borough where Norholt is located. The park’s name comes from the description of the manor house of Northolt in the 11th century Domesday Book.
The four hills serve as natural protection from noise and pollution from the A40, one of London’s busiest major roads.
Courtesy of Studio Fink
Fink was born in London but grew up in Czechoslovakia. He studied engineering in Prague, philosophy at University College London and sculpture at St Martins. He has held teaching posts at the Architectural Association and the Bartlett School of Architecture.
In keeping with his diverse experience, he doesn’t bother too much with categorizations. “The most important question for me over the last 40 years has been whether a work of art has to be part of an art world system that serves entertainment, cultural tourism and art markets, or whether it can be part of a larger agenda for social and environmental change,” he says.
Northala’s four hills provide natural protection from noise and pollution on one of London’s busiest roads and are planted with low-maintenance, wildlife-friendly vegetation. The park has won many awards including the Green Flag, the most prestigious international community award for parks and green spaces.
In fact, it is so popular that, unlike many London parks, Northala is almost completely free of litter and graffiti.. “The maintenance budget is never fully used – people have a psychological sense that the place is theirs,” says Fink, who worked closely with Northolt’s surrounding communities for two years during the project’s development. “I literally spoke to thousands of people,” he recalls. “And that created a tremendous energy for the project that got it through its bumpier moments.”
Peter Fink, the artist and creative force behind Northala Fields, stood next to an entrance to the site marked by gabion steel cages. The cages are filled with concrete salvaged from major civil engineering projects such as the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium.
Courtesy of Studio Fink
What is also extraordinary about Northala is that, despite its colossal scale, its environmental impact has been extremely low. Equally astonishing is that it cost next to nothing to build. This is because its massive mounds were constructed almost entirely from recycled rubble and waste from three of London’s biggest civil engineering projects in recent years: the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium, the construction of the Westfield shopping centre in White City and Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.
These major projects began almost simultaneously with the planning of the new park in Ealing, and Fink was aware that they would generate enormous amounts of what he called ‘waste’ – excess material that would need to be disposed of. “We offered to collect all the waste from our premises, charging between £70 and £90 per truckload,” he explains, adding: “This meant that the developers only had to transport the waste a few miles down the road, rather than driving more than 100 miles from London to the nearest landfill site.”
From August 2004, more than 165,000 lucrative truckloads of demolition material were delivered to Northolt. (To reduce the impact on surrounding communities, and as part of Fink’s commitment to involving local residents in the creation of the park, it was agreed that this transport would take place outside of school drop-off and pick-up times.) This move not only meant that the Northala project became sustainable, but also that the overall carbon footprint of Wembley, White City and Heathrow Terminal 5 was massively reduced.
A view of Northala Fields
Courtesy of Studio Fink
Now, as part of the 360-degree panorama of London from the summit of Northala’s highest hill, you can see the distinctive profile of the new Wembley Stadium in the distance – safe in the knowledge that the waste material created there has been put to good use.
However, building the Northala Hills was not simply a matter of piling up rubble. All the spoil had to be carefully tested for contaminants, and when it was deemed free of toxins, the crushed bricks and concrete were used as the foundation for the hills. The soil was sorted into acidic and alkaline in the meantime, and the final planting was organized accordingly – to accommodate the blooming wildflower mounds that cover the Northala Hills year-round.
Northala’s marriage of environmental awareness and keen artistic eye is also evident in another functional motif: the reclaimed concrete boulders encased in sturdy gabion steel cages and scattered throughout the park. These cages form more than a mile of low walls that punctuate and choreograph the landscape while also serving as seating and accentuating the curves of the spiral path that winds up the highest hill.
Additionally, hardwood was used from all the construction waste to create additional seating and trash bins, and six lakes with fishing piers made from screened and recycled plastic were created on site.
“All of these elements cost next to nothing and last for over a hundred years,” says Fink.
Whether you see Northala Fields as a work of art, a public recreational space, a nature reserve, a vantage point overlooking London’s landmarks, or simply a nice place for a stroll and a picnic, this visionary project is to be celebrated. It is an inspiring example of how art can be both integral to and integrated into progressive new forms of social and environmental thinking.
