Parts of the Thames could be frozen and turned into an ice rink and frost fair
Archiecture and design firm NBBJ have dramatic plans for the Thames, hoping to recreate frost fairs from the 17th century and create natural ice rinks along banks of the river.
NBBJ have drawn up designs for the retractable rinks, dubbed ‘Frost Flowers’, which would create the icy areas using large, circular pans submerged beneath the water top. The water these pans collect would be protected from the current, and would hopefully freeze.
The resulting area would be a frost fair, which would include an ice rink and Christmas markets. The idea harks back to the frost fairs which took place from the 17th century until the 19th century during the Little Ice Age, when the Thames would freeze over around once a decade. The Thames last froze over in 1963 at Windsor, though the last frost fair took place in 1814.
Once the season is over, the disks would be folded away, leaving them looking like closed flowers.
NBBJ previously hit the headlines with their proposal to replace the entire Circle Line with a travelator.
Ice Skating in London
Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellis
Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout
