Green Park Public Conveniences – Celebrating Heritage Through Westminster Notes

Commissioned by the City of Westminster, 2025
Artwork: “Westminster Notes” by James Lambert
Photography: Dirk Lindner

We are proud to have supplied the ceramic fabrication for the Green Park Public Conveniences, the fourth location in the City of Westminster’s ambitious programme to refurbish public facilities across central London. As part of the wider Westminster Notes public art initiative, the project demonstrates how ceramics can contribute to the creation of engaging civic spaces that combine functionality, heritage and artistic storytelling.

Central to the scheme is Westminster Notes, a series of bespoke artworks by artist James Lambert, whose distinctive graphic language responds directly to the identity and history of each location. At Green Park, the artwork celebrates the spectacle, eclecticism and regal character of the surrounding area, creating a visual narrative that connects landscape, architecture and local heritage.

The design is structured around a network of graphic lines inspired by both the roots of the surrounding parkland and the Royal family tree. These flowing elements weave across the tiled surfaces, creating connections between individual motifs while referencing the unseen networks that lie beneath this historic route linking Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly.

Throughout the composition, Lambert incorporates imagery drawn from the area’s rich cultural and historical associations. Lions inspired by those found on Buckingham Palace’s Canada Gates appear alongside figures referencing Beau Brummell, the influential Regency-era figure often regarded as the original dandy. These elements are complemented by star-like forms that can also be interpreted as scattered daffodils, introducing subtle references to the landscape and seasonal character of Green Park itself.

Additional motifs celebrate the traditions of refinement, hospitality and craftsmanship associated with nearby Jermyn Street and the surrounding arcades. Decorative details and ornamental forms contribute to a layered visual composition that rewards closer inspection, revealing connections between the area’s commercial, social and royal histories.

A radiant sun motif provides another focal point within the artwork, referencing the long-forgotten Temple of Concord, an eighteenth-century folly that once stood within Green Park. By incorporating such references, the scheme creates a dialogue between past and present, encouraging visitors to engage with aspects of the site’s history that may otherwise remain overlooked.

The project showcases the versatility of ceramic surfaces as a medium for public art. Through close collaboration between the artist, architects, specialist decorators and fabrication teams, complex graphic designs have been translated into durable ceramic installations capable of withstanding the demands of a busy public environment while maintaining their visual clarity and impact.

As with the previous Westminster Notes installations across Westminster, the Green Park scheme demonstrates the value of integrating art, architecture and material craftsmanship within public infrastructure projects. The result is a space that not only serves a practical purpose but also contributes to the cultural identity of its surroundings.

The Green Park installation stands as another successful example of how ceramic fabrication can support ambitious public art programmes, transforming everyday civic spaces into places of character, meaning and lasting visual interest.

James Lambert Video

The making of Westminster Notes is a short video commissioned by the City of Westminster. It shows the behind-the-scenes of artist James Lambert working on the art for Victoria Embankment, the first of eight public conveniences to be refurbished and include artwork by James Lambert.