The City of London’s oldest and largest public park reopened late last month following years of closure during the construction of the Elizabeth Line and a subsequent £2.8 million redevelopment.

Architecture 00 + Studio Weave with Realm – formerly known as ReardonSmith Landscape – won a competition to deliver the commission five years ago.

Their proposal, which won planning approval in 2022, featured a 100-capacity, open-fronted pavilion café built of ‘low carbon concrete’ and Portland stone, and intended to serve as a social hub for the park.

The completed scheme has overhauled the Grade II-listed site and improved its accessibility, but the pavilion has been omitted. The City of London Corporation said that unprecedented construction cost inflation between  2020 and 2022 had forced a major rethink.

Architecture 00 + Studio Weave director Je Ahn said: ‘A key defining factor of the project was the cost inflation which occurred during 2020-22. It hit at the worst possible time. From plant hire to sheet materials, costs were inflating due to international conditions.

‘Most significantly, construction costs rose 24.5 per cent in 2021 and 15 per cent in 2022. Ultimately the pavilion was omitted due to this cost inflation, as the budget and programme were fixed due to agreements with stakeholders, but the high-quality public space was retained.’

A corporation spokesperson added: ‘The completed scheme delivers high-quality landscaping, new pathways, seating, and a parks office – enhancing accessibility, biodiversity, and public use.

‘Dedicated space has also been included for the potential use of food trucks and coffee carts, supporting the City Corporation’s aims to attract businesses, workers and visitors to the Square Mile, and help drive London’s and the UK’s economy.

‘The pavilion was removed during the design stage following a significant increase in build costs to focus resources on delivering the core landscaping improvements, which enhance biodiversity, accessibility and year-round public use.’

Despite the pavilion’s absence, the project team emphasised that the essence of the upgrade was about enhancing the public realm. Ahn described the project as ‘fundamentally about the public realm – the City is densely packed and people need space to breathe.

‘The project is a great opportunity to give new life to the largest and oldest public open space in the City of London, which was closed during the construction of Crossrail – so what we had to hold on to was that quality of public realm.’

The upgrade has delivered a range of improvements, including a larger central lawn, new pathways, increased seating, and extensive landscaping featuring 12 additional tree species, over 13,000 plants, and more than 6,000 bulbs. The gardens also now feature a new parks office.

Corporation policy chairman Chris Hayward said: ‘Finsbury Circus Gardens is a beautiful, tranquil retreat in the heart of the City – now revitalised and ready to be rediscovered. Our green spaces play a vital role in making the Square Mile a welcoming and attractive place to live, work, and visit – delivering on our vision for a more inclusive, innovative, and sustainable City.’

Finsbury Circus opened as London’s first public park in 1606 and was laid out in its present form during the early 19th century, according to plans drawn up by George Dance the Younger.

The 2.2ha elliptical garden is the largest and oldest open green space within the City, and has previously hosted a lawn bowls club.

Architecture00 + Studio Weave won the revamp job ahead of rival submissions by Rome-based Alvisi-Kirimoto Partners, London’s Feilden Fowles Architects, Belfast’s Hall McKnight, and Studio Ben Allen with Paul Archer Design.

Architecture 00 + Studio Weave’s final design for its revamp of Finsbury Circus (March 2022) including the pavilion café