Kensington Roof Gardens

Six stories above the bustling traffic of Kensington High Street, you will find one of Europe's largest roof gardens. It was built between 1936 and 1938 on top of what was then the Derry and Toms department store. The project was the brainchild of the store's director, Trevor Bowen, who wanted to bring a slice of the American skyscraper glamour he had seen at the Rockefeller Center in New York to the heart of London. He commissioned landscape designer Ralph Hancock to transform the flat roof into an elaborate, multi-themed oasis. To keep the weight manageable, the entire garden sits on a thick layer of bitumen, rubble, and just two feet of soil, all supported by a massive steel structure designed to carry the immense load.