When a £2million project from a world-renowned architect for London’s Marble Arch was announced in February, excitement for the ‘new perspective on the future’ was high.
But today as Dutch designer MVRDV’s vision was finally seen by visitors, the only real heights were the £6.50 entrance fee and scale of crushing disappointment.
The Marble Arch Mound was roundly ridiculed today as tourists likened it to a level from Nintendo game Super Mario 64, the Teletubbies’ home, or worse still ‘seven minutes of work on Minecraft’.
While the designs for the artificial hill had shown a magical space of lush greenery and stunning views, the reality provided very little.
Neighbouring Hyde Park is almost entirely obscured by trees, making it difficult to spot anything on the grasses.
Then to the right a wasteground being developed boast a number of shipping containers and rubble.
Design versus reality: The plans for the hill on the left looked impressive compared to how it had actually been built
![What a view! Marketing expert Dan Barker posted this obscured vision from the Marble Arch Mound tip yesterday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45949351-9830387-What_a_view_Marketing_expert_Dan_Barker_posted_this_obscured_vis-a-52_1627389252011.jpg)
What a view! Marketing expert Dan Barker posted this obscured vision from the Marble Arch Mound tip yesterday
![Ugly metal fencing and barriers are still in place around the mound as well as traffic cones, which detract from the greenery](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45951339-9830387-image-a-64_1627389973167.jpg)
Ugly metal fencing and barriers are still in place around the mound as well as traffic cones, which detract from the greenery
![The Marble Arch mound installation opens to the public who have paid between £4.50 and £8 depending on the time of day](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45951345-9830387-image-a-66_1627390083054.jpg)
The Marble Arch mound installation opens to the public who have paid between £4.50 and £8 depending on the time of day
![Construction workers finish work of the Marble Arch Mound in London just two days before it finally opened its doors](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/15/45950803-9830387-Construction_workers_finish_work_of_the_Marble_Arch_Mound_in_Lon-a-1_1627394624510.jpg)
Construction workers finish work of the Marble Arch Mound in London just two days before it finally opened its doors
![The Marble March Mound as it was taking shape back in June this year next to the famous landmark it now looms over](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/44528709-9830387-The_Marble_March_Mound_as_it_was_taking_shape_next_to_the_famous-a-62_1627389252026.jpg)
The Marble March Mound as it was taking shape back in June this year next to the famous landmark it now looms over
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/15/45949245-9830387-image-a-2_1627394624511.jpg)
![Two twitter users likened it to a Mario computer game and the home of the Teletubbies](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45949533-9830387-Two_twitter_users_likened_it_to_a_Mario_computer_game_and_the_ho-a-54_1627389252017.jpg)
Two twitter users likened it to a Mario computer game and the home of the Teletubbies
The walk-up to the attraction is little better, with a parade of dumper bins lining one corner of the manmade structure.
Its big reveal prompted a barrage of criticism from the public over its cost and execution.
Bassano wrote: ‘Having just learned of the Marble Arch Mound, I’m not sure what’s worse.
‘Charging £8 to ascend some scaffolding covered in rolls of B&Q turf or the views of the building site from the top’
Marketing expert Dan Barker said: ‘I’d joked before that it cost 6p per step to climb it, as the ‘fast track’ price was £8.
‘That seems to have dropped to £6.50, meaning it is a more affordable 5p per step to climb the 130ish steps.’
David Heslop opined: ‘I’ve just seen that Marble Arch mound thing, and can anyone explain why it looks like it was built using the terrain editor from the first Roller Coaster Tycoon?’
Jon quipped: ‘They needed to either make more effort to make Marble Arch Mound look like a hill, or less effort.
‘As it is, it looks like a screenshot from seven minutes of work in Minecraft.’
![Pictured: What the mound was supposed to look like at dusk in the designers' original plans before the attraction oppened](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/15/39407316-9830387-Kay_Buxton_chief_executive_of_Marble_Arch_London_BID_said_We_are-a-4_1627395052430.jpg)
Pictured: What the mound was supposed to look like at dusk in the designers’ original plans before the attraction oppened
![Here's what you could have won! Plans promised sweeping views for six months between summer and Christmas](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/15/39355264-9830387-Dubbed_the_Marble_Arch_Mound_it_will_tower_at_82ft_and_promises_-a-5_1627395102602.jpg)
Here’s what you could have won! Plans promised sweeping views for six months between summer and Christmas
![The plans for the mound look very different in terms of quality to the finished product, with many left very unimpressed](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/02/17/16/39407326-9266301-image-a-15_1613578966433.jpg)
The plans for the mound look very different in terms of quality to the finished product, with many left very unimpressed
![The plans, pictured here showed a hill bustling with flora and fauna but the reality is much more bare and lacks greenery](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/15/39407318-9830387-Council_leader_Rachael_Robathan_said_Our_proposed_Marble_Arch_Hi-a-6_1627395206536.jpg)
The plans, pictured here showed a hill bustling with flora and fauna but the reality is much more bare and lacks greenery
![Slight Return left no doubt of their opinion on the Marble Arch Mound with this meme showing dinosaur dung in Jurassic Park](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45949243-9830387-Slight_Return_left_no_doubt_of_their_opinion_on_the_Marble_Arch_-a-55_1627389252018.jpg)
Slight Return left no doubt of their opinion on the Marble Arch Mound with this meme showing dinosaur dung in Jurassic Park
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45949523-9830387-image-a-56_1627389252021.jpg)
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45949525-9830387-image-a-57_1627389252022.jpg)
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/15/45949527-9830387-image-a-3_1627394624514.jpg)
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45949535-9830387-image-a-59_1627389252023.jpg)
![Social media was flooded with disdain for the £2million project and its appearance, noting the cost of just going up there](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/27/13/45949537-9830387-Social_media_was_flooded_with_disdain_for_the_2million_project_a-a-60_1627389252024.jpg)
Social media was flooded with disdain for the £2million project and its appearance, noting the cost of just going up there
Rachel said: ‘TBF the Teletubby land hill, looks better than the £2 million pound utter monstrosity that is the Marble Arch mound.’
Joshua added: ‘You cannot tell me the Marble Arch mound doesn’t look like the first level in Mario 64.’
Another asked: ‘I don’t live in London. Is this a joke or have the Tories really built a £2million slag heap by Marble Arch?’
Back in February the stage had been set for a spectacular inner-city display.
Winy Maas, founding partner at MVRDV, had helped stoke the anticipation.
He told Architect’s Journal: ‘It’s a location full of contradictions, and our design highlights that.
By adding this landscape element, we make a comment on the urban layout of the Marble Arch, and by looking to the site’s history, we make a comment on the area’s future.
‘Marble Arch Hill strengthens the connection between Oxford Street and the park via the Marble Arch.
‘Can this temporary addition help inspire the city to undo the mistakes of the 1960s, and repair that connection?’
Westminster Council was similarly enthused by the design and seemed eager to see the results.
Council leader Rachael Robathan said at the time: ‘Our proposed Hyde Park Hill temporary visitor attraction at Marble Arch signifies our ambitious approach to the Oxford Street district.
‘It will be important for bringing in visitors to support the local economy.
‘However, it will offer so much more.
‘We hope it will give people an opportunity to look afresh and with wonder at this well-known, but sadly increasingly overlooked, area to recognise its beauty and importance.’
In the days leading up to the opening Mr Maas seemed to accept that the real hill was not quite up to the standards of the designs.
He told the Guardian: ‘It’s not enough, we are all fully aware that it needs more substance.
‘The initial calculation was for a stair, and then there are all the extras.
‘But I think it still opens people’s eyes and prompts an intense discussion. It’s OK for it to be vulnerable.
‘Imagine if you lifted up Hyde Park at each of its corners.
‘Speaker’s Corner could be transformed into a kind of tribune, with a perfect view across an endless landscape.’
The Marble Arch Mound installation is intended to be in place for the rest of the year.
It will be taken down and dismantled at the start of January 2022.