The Thames-Side Art Gallery At the Center of a New London District

Photo Credit: Greenwich Peninsula

A beautiful mermaid stretches into the sky by the Thames at North Greenwich—parrot fish and sea crabs in her hair, eyes firmly shut. It wouldn’t be surprising if the maritime-themed sculpture had been here since Greenwich’s naval days, but in fact it’s the work of Britpop bad boy Damien Hirst.

Nearby is a second Hirst sculpture—another sea-themed confection—this one depicting a barnacle-smothered Kali slaying the many-headed serpent, Hydra.

“I started work on the sculptures before I had a place to show them,” Hirst explains, adding, “The works are at home beside water.” 

These were the first works of art to be installed on The Tide, a new linear walkway on the Greenwich Peninsula.

Architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro are working in collaboration with Neiheiser Argyros on the elevated sculpture park, which opened in July 2019. Currently, it measures just one kilometer, but eventually it will snake five kilometers around the peninsula—a destination in its own right.

A Different Greenwich Altogether

Greenwich itself is well-known and well-loved. It’s the picturesque home of Christopher Wren’s Royal Naval College, the Cutty Sark tea clipper, the National Maritime Museum, the stunning Greenwich Park with its Royal Observatory, and the hordes of visitors—native and international—these bring in. North Greenwich, on the other hand, feels like a different Greenwich altogether. 

The flood-prone peninsula was largely left alone until the 19th century, when rope, cable, and soap industries moved in—and ultimately moved out. At the turn of the millennium, the area’s fortunes changed again when the Millennium Dome landed here like an alien craft. 

Photo Credit: Greenwich Peninsula

Billed as an “emerging modern community,” the districts are aimed at everyone from young creative types to families. There will be art workshops, film studios, galleries, and sports pitches. 

Though the completion of all of the above will be roughly 20 years in the making, the new-look Greenwich Peninsula is already happening, with some residents moved into finished Upper and Lower Riverside homes. The 16 buildings of the Design District (designed by eight different architects) are set to open in 2021.

The Tide

The Tide will grow in tandem with the surrounding districts, but it’s already open for visitors to enjoy and watch evolve. 

Aside from Hirst’s statues, you’ll find Morag Myerscough’s signature splashes of color in her work Siblings. Allen Jones’s brash red metalwork Head in the Wind, meanwhile, should be admired from above as well as from the ground. Thanks to The Tide’s alabaster-hued walkways, this is possible.

There are already other activities to enjoy among The Tide’s birch- and pine-studded walkways. Small plates of Basque cuisine are served up at Ardoa, paired with tumblers of Spanish cabernet sauvignon: a tasty accompaniment to sunsets over the river. 

The Clubhouse identifies as “part exercise studio, part espresso bar, part art installation,” and offers alfresco fitness classes and personal meditation points, courtesy of OPO by BeBox.

You can even get your fingers dirty by mucking in with urban gardening sessions that tend to the fruits and vegetables of The Tide’s jetty. In a couple of decades, when the district is well and truly established, you’ll be able to say, “I planted that apple tree.”