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CONTENTS
Abstract Introduction to Wivenhoe Location Information Part A – Urban Analysis • • • • • •
West Quay Old Quay Historical Core Residential Area King George Park High Street
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Introduction & Location details Client’s Brief Development Vision Site Appraisal Relevant Public Policy Opportunities and Constraints Development Principles Details
Part B – Development Brief
Conclusion Personal Reflections Meetings minutes Reference List
Abstract In alphabetic writing, the meaning of a word is not only associated with the image that this word represents, it is also related with its idea, the thoughts that someone has when reading or listening to this word. With this in mind, when we think about a city or a space within a city, many images and ideas may emerge in our head due to our experiences in this place. Those image-ideas come from a two-way process between the observer and what is observed, it is the human perception of the urban environment and as an environment it cannot be seen as an isolated cell.
Team LEGIBILITY 1335312 Bianca Baidoo 1305535 Desmond Ackam
1354124 Willnara Braga Diniz Guimaraes
1361128 Clidenor Junior 1422064 Jessica Faria de Souza
1428554 Juyoun Kim
To better understand the creation process of those images it is important to recognize some structures and identify some patterns in order to read and analyse an urban space. In this case of study, the town of Wivenhoe, the main guide to the analysis was the idea of LEGIBILITY, that is described by Kevin Lynch in his book The image of the city as how ease the parts of the cityscape can be organized and recognized. To amplify the understanding of Wivenhoe by this guideword some sites of the city were chosen to be studied more deeply, those sites are: the port, the quay, area around the Church and its connection with the train station, the High Street and the King George Playing Field. To study these character areas, several visits to the site in different times of the day, sketches, pictures an notes were made to analyse the urban environment of the place and its context. With all the information together with was possible to discuss the issues, possibilities and constraints with th group member and ground the research to the urban analysis of wivenhoe. #
Part A _ LOCATION INFORMATION
Wivenhoe is a town in north eastern E ssex, England, within the administratio n boundary of the Borough of Colche ster, which is the local planning autho rity. The Town is also located on the banks of the River Colne, a small river that ru ns through Colchester and flows thro ugh the Hythe and down to Brightling sea. This fact reflects on the town’s his tory, being centred on maritime indus tries, such as fishing and ship building .
Map illustrating the location of Wiven hoe. From England to Essex, then Col chester and finally Wivenhoe. Map by Clidenor Macêdo Júnior.
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOWN
For being on the banks of the River Colne, Wivenhoe to wn’s history is centred on maritime industries, such as fis hing, rope-making and ship building. The earliest record of ship building is in 1575 and, before the 17th century was out, the town was sending two packet boats regular ly to London (Wivenhoe History Group, 2014).
Map illustrating the evolution of Wivenhoe’s urban growth. Map by Clide nor Macêdo Júnior.
In the 18th century, Wivenhoe developed as a port and until the late 19th century was effectively for Colchester, once large ships were unable to navigate any further up the River Colne. However, the period of greatest prosper ity for the town came with the opening of the railway lin e from Colchester to Wivenhoe in 1863, and three years later a branch line to Brightlingsea. Now, fish and oyster s could be despatched rapidly to London, making the ec onomy of the town increase, while materials, such as wo od for ship building and slates for the roofs of the house s could be conveniently brought to the town. Meanwhile , the population doubled, from one to two thousand, be tween 1801 and 1881.
However, the most significant fact about Wiven hoe to the present is the remarkably quick rise i n population in the course of 20th century’s sec ond half. This happened when the Wivenhoe Pa rk was chosen as the location for the University of Essex, in 1964. The population increased abo ut 95% to 5316 in 1971 (Wivenhoe Town Plan, 2 008). The Wivenhoe of today is a much larger commu nity, with a population around ten thousand, inc luding the students who live on the University o f Essex campus. Also, aside from the inclusion o f tarmac, the town’s network of main roads rem ains the same in essence as it has been for hun dreds of years, although the architecture in itsel f has not change much, with some buildings re maining the same since they were built years ag o, only changing their use.
Photos illustrating the resistence of the local architecture. The building in the left is the Park Hotel, on High Street, the photo in the up is from 1905 and th e down one is from 2010. The building in the right is the Grey Hound Pub, als o in the High Street, in two different times. It can be noticed that the architec ture of those buildings have not changed much, remaining almost the same. Photos taken from the website http://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOWN – Character Areas As stated in the Abstract, to amplify the understanding of Wivenhoe by this report, some sites of the town were chosen to be studied more deeply, calling them charact er areas, those sites are: the West quay, a residential area that comprises the dry dock; the Old quay, the oldest part of the town alongside the river Colne; the Historical core, an area around the St Mary’s Church and its connection with the train station, due to its histo rical importance; the Residential area located in the east of High Street, a large area that differs from all the others sites. The Park, The King George Playing Field, one of the mai n points of Wivenhoe, and its connection with the build ings on its surroundings; and the High Street, the most important avenue of the t own that makes a connection between Wivenhoe and C olchester;
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOWN – Character Areas
Map highlighting all the six character areas. Map by Clidenor Macêdo Júnior.
West Quay _ Bianca Baidoo
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APPRAISAL FORMS daytime
Night time
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URBAN STRUCTURE Analysing the urban structure in and
around the west quay, there is a limited bus ser vice, other than this, there are no other public transport services. There is also an identifiable amount of off road parking, this co uld be due to the fact that there is a limited amount of allocated drive way parking. Due to the planning of the area, there is a vast amount of housing, showing that more att ention has gone into housing the residents, than into the placement of cars. This is due to the reason that, the Wivenhoe to wn council, wants to reduce the road usage and encourage walking and cycling; as a result, of this there is limited road and pedestrian usage in order to increase space for housing.
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URBAN GRAIN Negative Figure plan showing the open spaces in-between Buildings. The spaces illustrate the routes and Traffic routes within the west Quay. The roads are a mixture of straight and curved Viewing the urban grain of the west quay in detail, road by road the pattern of blocks and buildings are Irregular. The road widths are mainly narrow as you go further into the west quay from the railway station. On Old Ferry Road, the road allows a larger flow of traffic to leave and enter the West Quay. However, on Merediths Close and Spindrift way, the flow of traffic becomes, reduced and fewer cars circulate the area, unless the cars are leaving or going home. Therefore, on the roads more central to the west quay there are many cars giving way to other cars, due to the narrowed road width.
Positive figure plan illustrates the different types of building form and the extent and intensity of this. In the west quay the buildings are evenly spaced out, and evenly sized. #
LANDSCAPE The landscaping of the west quay is different, to other places within Wivenhoe. The topography of wivenhoe, is mainly flat land, this may be because it is by the River Colne, the edge of Wivenhoe. The west of this area is encased by a vast amount of natural land; from a distance, this flat green land enhances the aesthetical value of the West Quay, because the different housing colours can be seen in the brighter part of the day. Within the West Quay, there are various types of vegetation. The area contains natural vegetation, such as the land that encases the west of the west quay. There is a greater deal of fabricated vegetation, such as plants growing outside of houses and vine plants growing along the side of the houses. This vegetation, seems to have been planted by the residents for an aesthetical value. This is evident because not all houses have this feature; the colour of the grass outside of homes and the colour of leaves of the plants are of an artificial nature.
Photo of manmade Plants planted by residents. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo
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LANDSCAPE Appraisal map of Landscaping within the west quay. Grass areas populated within residents Garden and Main trees congested on lower eastern area of west quay highlighted on map and notated on the key.
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LANDSCAPE
Photo of Natural vegetation shown in first photo in contrast to Manma de vegetation shown in second photo. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo
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LANDSCAPE Drawing/Watercolour of Plants planted by residents. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo
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DENSITY & MIX Within the west quay, the development is solely residential housing. The area is focussed on housing the population of Residents. The planning of the west quay highlights this. The layout of the roads within this area, are curved in order to fit as many houses as possible and to make the area have a more Cohesive structure in terms of linking roads together. In regards to the planning, using straighter roads in some cases could limit this, Admirals Walk is a perfect example of this. There are no commercial developments within the west quay area, because the west quay purpose is for housing.
Photo of more narrow metalled road spacing on mulberry harbour way. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo
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DENSITY & MIX
Wider roads nearer to busier areas,. In this example Old Ferry Road allows more traffic to flow through, because it is near the railway station so this area is more likely to be congested. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo.
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DENSITY & MIX Appraisal map of Private and Public realms within the west quay. Public areas only include the main roads and the pond area. Semi public areas are located in driveways of clustered housing as shown in light blue. Private areas such as h ousing and gardens dominate west quay, purple areas and black blocks of building area.
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SCALE Viewing the west quay from a vantage point, all the building heights from a distance vary just by a few inches. Nevertheless as you get closer all houses are typically made up of two floors, apart from the dry dock. The dry dock consists of houses that are mainly made up of three floors and in s ome cases four. The houses bordering the dry dock, have a height that draws attention to the pond area creating a view leading to the river Colne. The height of housing development covering the west quay, keeps the towns Chapel as a trade mark, as it is noticeable from vantage points. Silhouette Photo of Pond area, and buildings bordering the area, giving a good view towards the River Colne. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo.
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SCALE
Observational ink drawing of houses on spindrift way with different heights but all houses are two storeys. Drawing by Bianca Baidoo.
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SCALE
Photos of houses acting as a border around Vistas. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo.
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SCALE This map illustrates the scale of houses within the west quay . The west quay is dominated by houses that are two storeys and below. The houses that are above two storeys are populated around areas of great views, such as the west quay border by the river Colne and by the vast grassland to the west of the west quay. They are also populated around the pond area in the dry dock. In a way these taller houses work as a border and emphasise on these vistas.
Two storey houses and below Above two storey houses
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APPEARANCE The appearance of the west quay is a bright contrast from the other areas of wivenhoe. This is down to the reason that the area is a new addition, to the Wivenhoe area. The approach used to plan this side of the quay, adapts a modern style of town planning. The appearance of the houses, use subtle pastel colours to reflect the calm atmosphere of the quay as a whole. The roofs of the houses are also at a specific angle to maintain the coherency of the historical value of the town. If the roof angle, were made more obtuse and relaxed, this would detract from this important feature of maintaining that the houses throughout wivenhoe to resemble one another. Throughout the West Quay, not every house looks identical. However, the houses use the same materials such as paint, cement, red brick and wooden cladding (on the upper half of the houses) a great example of this will be along the dry dock, surrounding the pond area.
Photo of houses om dry dock, pastel colours used on houses and wooden cladding on the faรงade. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo.
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APPEARANCE Photos of mixture of housing within west quay, all look different from afar but all use same materials and have similar aesthetics. Photo taken by Bianca Baidoo
Observational watercolour drawing of houses and aesthetics of them on the dry dock. Drawing by Bianca Baidoo.
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CONCLUSION
To conclude, the west quay area can be considered to be different to the rest of Wivenhoe , due to it's new housing developments. The style of this is unique to Wivenhoe as a whol e and it's area draws much attention due to this. The west quay has been planned in a way where Wivenhoe's historical value has not been wiped away and is in fact carried througho ut the west quay's appearance. This area of Wivenhoe provides a serene atmosphe re, that is appreciated by it's residents and it's visitors.
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Old Quay _ Desmond Ackam
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THE OLD QUAY Appraisal Forms
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THE OLD QUAY Summary
The Old Quay is one of the most important areas in Wivenhoe. This dates back to the medieval period where Colne Estuary was main source of income to the locals.
However the Quay has transformed drastically as the population rose over the years making it more legible. Now there are various activities that take pl ace around the area such as fishing, boat sailing and leisure. The locations in this Character area are Bath Street, Quay Street. The Quay, East Street, Black Buoy Hill and The Folly From the following slides below, The Old quay is an alysed under headings such as urban structure, urban grain, Landscape, Density and mix, scale and appearance with the aim of breaking down the current state of the Old Quay and its key elements. Which are: • Heights of buildings • Layout of buildings • Level od development • Movement in the area
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OLD QUAY: Appraisal drawing
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URBAN STRUCTURE The Old quay’s response to urbanisation is impressive. Although The Wivenhoe town history has it that the old quay was a shipyard and the gateway to most commerci al activities in the town, the Old quay has evolved in terms of urbanisation. The most urba nised aspect of the Old Quay is its west side: which has seen new Housing Constructions. There is a whole sense of harm ony as the remains of the pre historic Old Quay has merged beautifully with the new developments in the area.
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URBAN STRUCTURE Key Area
The Quay is the main focus of this side of Wivenhoe, this is be cause of its strong connection to the town’s history.
Photo of the Quay. Showing people walking around the Quay. Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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URBAN GRAIN FIGURE PLANS Positive The positives the unequal distances between the buildings and also the different forms of buildings in this area. These different buildin g forms, result in different heights and types of the buildings
Negative The Negative figure plan shows the spacing of buildings in the Old Quay. There are line ar and irregular spaces in between building s: this creates some interesting views as you walk in between the buildings.
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URBAN GRAIN Buildings in the Old Quay area have an interesting pattern of irregularity to them. From bird’s eye view, there are mostly between three to five groups of houses laid out linearly with the others angled opposite or in a different angle to each other. From the East Street towards the quay, there is this pattern of old buildings untouched to old buildings maintained with a modern touch to it with some bright colours. The irregular pattern of the buildings in this area creates narrow spaces between buildings which have been tarred as roads.
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URBAN GRAIN
Photo of the East Street. Showing The different heights of buildings and uneven spacing in between them. Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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LAND SCAPE The Old quay mostly has domestically designed buildings. These buildings have a regular rectangular, square or a combination of the two as one unit of a building. This is because some houses in the area have small extensions. However, there are appreciable amounts of green areas within these groups of buildings: some grown in pots, around the houses by residents and some also grown naturally. There are few building extensions on the river where people board the boats from or sat out to relax .
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LAND SCAPE
Photo of Ornamental vegetation around the Quay by Residents. Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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LAND SCAPE
Photo of Natural vegetation and building extensions around the Quay by Residents. Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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DENSITY & MIX The Quay is mainly residential and leisure area where people sit out to relax and ride on the river.
The housing development from the East Street maintain the old brick patterning and colours through to Bath Street, Quay Street and Black Buoy Hill where they have been developed with plastering, new bricks and painting. However, the pub, the Wivenhoe Port and services club a re commercial areas where people socialise.
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DENSITY & MIX
A Sketch of The Quay being used for leisure. Sketch by Desmond Ackam
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DENSITY & MIX
Photo of old and new brick patterning with a mixture of wood cluttering and plastered walls. Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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DENSITY & MIX
Photo of old patterning contrasting a plastered and painted building. Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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SCALE There are mostly one storey building in the Old Quay area. Most of these buildings are residential except The Royal British Legion (Wivenhoe Services Club) which is a commercial building. There are also some two storey buildings in the Old Quay area these: some are residential and the others are commercial (The Wivenhoe Port). All these building have solid shapes (rectangular, square or both) but not as high as the St Mary’s church on the other side of the East Street.
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SCALE
A Sketch of different building heights and pitch of roofs creating a beautiful contrast with skyline in the old Quay Sketch by Desmond Ackam
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SCALE
A photo of different building heights on the East Street Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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APPEARANCE Variety is the simple description of the appearance on the Old Quay area. There is brick and block work on houses, which are painted or left in its original state. The painted brick and block walls are in warm and inviting mild pink, white, blue, yellow, grey, cream and orange which brightens up the surroundings in the day time. The old brick work has faded and decayed which gives an organic feel to the surroundings. There are also wood cluttering on extensions of some houses: with ornamental growths around buildings mainly for decoration. The cluttered wooden walls are also in plain colours 9 white and Black; this seems like a theme around the Quay. The roof of the buildings are mostly clay and slate with mould on some parts of them. Some roof have shed roof pitches, pavilion, others are flat and others very saddle. This part of Wivenhoe clearly looks to keeping the strong historical link it has and merging it with a slight sense of modernisation. The surroundings still has ship yard elements (old/new boats, canoes, all walking bridges) as well as the pond area with pavement and chairs with trees for leisure.
A photo of different walls surfaces on the Quay and Black Buoy hill Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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APPEARANCE
A sketch of a view point of on the Black Buoy hill, showing a pavilion roof pitch and ornamental vegetative over Sketch by Desmond Ackam
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APPEARANCE
A sketch of a view point of on the Anchor Hill Sketch by Desmond Ackam
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APPEARANCE Photos of different forms of dec ay around the Quay and Down The Black Buoy Photograph by Desmond Ackam
Photos of beautiful skyline views of the Quay. Photograph by Desmond Ackam
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CONCLUSION
Looking at the present day developments made in the entire Wivenhoe, it can be said that the Old Quay is the trans. Simply meaning that it is the area of the town where new developments met the old rich historical aspect of the town. This has given the Old Quay area a balanced presence of the old and developed architecture and the two have merged beautifully as evidence d in some of the pictures. With some areas in the Old Quay still undergoing development, the Old Quay still manages to keep its rich history; which is good for residents and visitors to experience. In other words, the more rapid the development, the more legible the are becomes.
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HISTORICAL CORE _ Clidenor Macedo Junior Urban Context Located in the south of Wivenhoe, alo ngside the quay and next to the River Colne, the Historical Core is a site aro und the St Mary’s Church and its con nection with the train station and is o ne of the oldest areas of the town. Inserted in the Wivenhoe conservatio nal area, where the Council decides o n demolishing of buildings and other structures, the Historical Core covers key features of the town, such as the train station and the St Mary’s Church , classified as landmarks, “point refere nces which most people experience fr om outside” (Bentley at al., 1985. P44) , important paths, like part of the Hig h Street and the Station Road, and als o relevant nodes like the connection between the High Street and the Stati on Road and the one in front of the T rain Station. Those elements help to i ncrease the town’s legibility.
Map highlighting the Historical Core area. Map by Clidenor Macêdo Júnior.
HISTORICAL CORE – Notated plan Alma Street differs fr om the whole by its urban shape.
The train line works like an adge. Dividing Wive nhoe in tow: Up/North Wivenhoe and Down/S outh Wivenhoe. Apart of being a real barrier, li miting the movement of the people
The Station in itself repres ents the economic growth of the tow.
All this range of features reafirms the importance of the Church, as a Landmark and for the history of the town.
HISTORICAL CORE – Urban structure
After analyzing the urban structure of the area, it was noted the clear predominanc e of organic form on the road’s trace. Als o that in many instances there is a narro wing of those roads. This narrowing of the streets gives the fe eling that the area is more dense, which i s actually true, in comparison with other areas of the city. Another consequence is the lack of parki ng, the cars do not have places to park. T his is actually one of the major problems already reported by residents of the tow n, which will damage traffic.
Map highlighting the paths and roads of the Historical C ore area. Map by Clidenor Macêdo Júnior.
HISTORICAL CORE – Urban grain Like organic tissues whose cell arrangements delineate interstitial sp aces of various shapes and functions, the organization of the buildin gs in cities results in spaces of the same type. The map has a trace with organic routes – Alma Street and Station R oad being the exceptions -, irregular blocks, where the relationship of fullness to emptiness is not very prevalent. It is also possible to no tice some gaps not yet invaded by the built environment. The frontage line of the buildings is now easy to read and, like the ro ads, it is not regular – again, Alma Street and Station Road being the exception, and Hamilton Road too. The St. Mary’s Church is easily found, emphasizing its legibility, just li ke the Train Station. Alma Street, Station Road and Hamilton Road are newer paths in co mparison with the others, and this may be the reason for its frontag e building uniformity and straight roads. Negative and positive figure ground maps. With the figure ground negative ma p is possible to analyse the spaces between buildings, making possible to under stand how public space interacts with the private one. While the positive map ill ustrates the different types of building form. In the Historical Core, different fro m other areas, there is not an uniformity of the shape of the buildings, with som e exceptions like Alma Street and Hamilton Road. Maps by Clidenor Macêdo Júnior
HISTORICAL CORE – Density and Mix This character area shows a very interesting range o f uses: shops, bars, residential, residential buildings and even a church and a chapel. The shops and service stores are located in the High Street, right next to the St. Mary’s Church, and is act ually the part of the High Street whit the greatest n umber of these land uses. The train station is one of the most important buildings of the area, classified as a service, it is, in itself, an important landmark. Residential buildings are concentrated in the Station Road, West Street, East Street and Alma Street. The St. Mary’s Church is an example of an institutio nal land use. The church itself, which has occupied t he same site from Saxon times to the present day, a cquired, by about 1500, a tower, which rose high ab ove the surrounding timber-framed houses, in whic h bells rang and a clock chimed.
Sketch of the St. Mary’s Church. Draw ing by Jéssica Souza
HISTORICAL CORE – Density and Mix
Photo illustrating the commercial use in the Hi gh Street. Photo by Clidenor Macêdo Júnior.
Photo illustrating the residential use in the Station Road. Photo by Clidenor Macêdo Júnior.
HISTORICAL CORE – Scale
Most of the buildings in the Historical Core ar ea are from 2 to 3 storeys, making a very unif orm sequence, creating a rhythm. Most of the residential buildings are of 2 store ys and the commercial and service buildings a re from 1 to 3 storeys. An interesting fact is that all of the residential buildings in the West Street and Station road are of 2 storeys. The St. Mary’s Church is the highest building i n the site, making possible, from its tower, to have a great view of almost the entire town.
Photo taken from the St. Mary’s Church Tower, illu strating the scale of the buildings in the Historical Core area. Photo by Willnara Guimarães
RESIDENTIAL AREA _ Jessica faria de Souza
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URBAN CONTEXT
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TOWNSCAPE APPRAISAL
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TOWNSCAPE APPRAISAL
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NOTATED PLAN
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URBAN STRUCTURE
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URBAN GRAIN and APPEARANCE
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DENSITY and MIX
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SCALE
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FIGURE PLAN
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KING GEORGE PARK _ Willnara guimaraes
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PARK URBAN CONTEXT Located in the city centre, this park is one of the main points of Wivenhoe, it is surrounded in one side by the Wivenhoe Woods and in t he other side by the High Street, despite this strategic position the park seems rather underused and there is no organization or diversification of infra-structure. In the east portion, where the park connects with the High Street, there is no clear visual limit between private and public spaces which creates a mixed edge that increases the permeability through those green areas which contrasts with the south portion where there is a physical barrier created by the rail line and with the west portion where the trees of the woods form a visual barrier. In the north portion the park is encircled by a short fence.
Park of Wivenhoe Source: Digimap (Edited by Willnara)
King George Playing Field Park Photo take by the group
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PARK URBAN CONTEXT
Main access Photos taken by the group
Source: Digimap (Edited by Willnara)
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PARK URBAN CONTEXT
Park of Wivenhoe Source: Digimap (Edited by Willnara) Photos taken by the group
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NOTATED PLAN N
Notated Plan
In this notated plan is possible to see the different uses of the area around the park with the majority of building being used for residential purposes. There is also the access to the park and the physical and visual edge that exist around the park. The node and landmarks are also stated in this plan.
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Figure 6. Sketch : High street facade
Sketch: Clifton Terrace Stair next to the rail line Photo take by the group
This photography is in front of the south entrance of the park and it leads the dwellers who live behind the rail line to the park.
This sketch is a view of the Clifton Terrace, that is the road that leads to one of the main entrance to the park. Its possible to see that most of the street is not prepared to pedestrians and the public illumination is not adequate.
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URBAN STRUCTURE N
The structure in the park is not very effective in creating an identity to the area, although there are a few remarkable points, such as the basketball and football fields and the skateboard slopes, in an overview those points do not stand out and are not legible, is hard to identify a pattern among those structures, there is no particular framed view or a distinction of scale or co verage within the park, however the old-trees planted along the narrow paths design in the park guide the observer eyes in long views towards both north and south sides of the park.
Photo take by the group
Park structure Source: Digimap (Edited by Willnara)
There are no streets light or signs which may be related to one o f the problems that appeared in the survey realized by the City H all in 2008 in which the inhabitants complained about the presen ce of gangs in the park. #
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN GRAIN N
The buildings in the east portion of the field do not have a strong impact in the overall view of the park, even though, there are different uses to those builds and th e distance between them and the border of the park are not very substantial, the tra nsaction area, filled with plants and in an area, a pond, smooth away this separation and it becomes a regular shape. By the west portion the forest creates a g reen wall, almost a homogenous wall, because the trees have about the same height.
Important trees Source: Digimap (Edited by Willnara)
Photos taken by the group
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LANDSCAPE AND URBAN GRAIN The shape of the whole field is organic; the walking paths are re gular, strict and narrow with a concrete surface. As for the sports fields there a no apparent distinction between the surfaces apart from thin lines drawn on the grass to limited the area of each act ivity.
Photos taken by the group
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DENSITY & MIX This area is basically a green field, so there is no mix in the uses, it is a recreational area with little i nfra-structure, despite the potential that the site h olds. It not a dense park, there is no major diversi ty in vegetation, paths and coverages. The scales area is also very similar in the south and north portion and only where the field meets the woods and the builds that are a chance in the general template of the park. The surround area is mostly residential with some institutional builds represented by a church and the halls.
Source: Digimap (Edited by Willnara)
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SCALE The scale in the area around the park is predominant 2 store houses, how is possible to see in the map on the right and only few builds with one store. The scale is very homogeny and that impression is increased by the fact that most builds have the same type of finishing.
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Source: Digimap (Edited by Willnara)
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FIGURE PLANS
Positive
Negative
In those figure plan is possible to note that the builds in this area do not occupy the majority of the land space, most of the houses around the park have a “L� or squared shape which demonstrate the homogeneity in the building pattern. Its also notable how the empty spaces and the park are visually connected, especially because most of the builds are not attached to their division walls.
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HIGH STREET _ Juyoun Kim
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HIGH STREET URBAN CONTEXT The High street is one of the most important area in that it makes a connection between Wivenhoe and Colchester. People who work or study on outside of Wivenhoe pass through this street everyday by their own car, bicycle, and bus. This route forms a main axis of the village with a rail road which go through the center of small town.
Main Axis of Wivenhoe _ made by Joen
From the High street area, people can easily access to both train sation and bus station. Also, this is one of the area which includes lots of commercial facilities. In addition, to the west side, huge green park is adjacent. This results in considerable circulation to this area. High Street area _ made by Joen
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NOTATED PLAN
This notated plan includes lots of information. First of all, color of area shows land uses. Violet area is the residential area, which hold the highest rate on High street. The Orange area that account for second high rate of area is commercial area. Also there are green area near the King George’s field and west side of the Park road and gray colored public areas. One of the Public area(gray color) includes a parking lot at the corner of Clifton Terrace. Tough this can accommodate about 40 cars, there is a problem of parking all over the high street.
Notated Plan _ made by Joen
On the other hand, there are important elements on the area such as Edge, Node, and Landmark. Edges are the linear elements : they are usually the boundaries between two kinds of areas.1) For example, on the map, the vertical broken line divides green field and high street area. #
TOWNSCAPE APPRAISAL
Townscape Appraisal on high street at 14:30 & 18:00
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Sketch : High street façade _ made by Joen
Sketch : Malting yard
As marked on the notated plan, northeast façade of High Street has interesting elevation. While northwest elevation is blocked by brick wall, it shows the house’s façade as it is. This skyline of High street is formed by mixture of both gradual slope of the street and height of housing which is slightly rising and falling repeatedly.
The sketch on the right side display one of a dead end Malting yard. This alley is usually empty except when resident use the place for a parking lot. As this space, there are some areas which is not used in Wivenhoe. In this point, it is necessary to utilize these dead space for urban design.
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URBAN STRUCTURE Picture of Wivenhoe
Node is the strategic focus into which the
observer can enter, typically either junctions of paths, or concentrations of some characteristic.2) From this point, there are two big nodes on both ends of High street. In other words, the High street act as a bridge between two nodes.
As a result, relationship between nodes makes High street legible. Legible city would be one whose districts or landmarks or pathways are easily identifiable and are easily grouped into an over-all pattern.3) High street is one of the most legible area through this point.
Notated Plan
# Picture of Wivenhoe
Sketch of Node _ made by Joen
URBAN GRAIN
Urban grain Appraisal map 1,2 _ made by Joen
The high street is where the greatest intensity of movement occurs in Wivenhoe. As it compose the main axis, a pattern is formed with the street as a center. Forward to this, several roads such as queen’s road, lifton terrace road, rebow road are connected. Also there is a few dead end in this area. #
Figure plan _ made by Joen
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LAND SCAPE
Pictures of Wivenhoe
Appraisal map with landscaping within the high street. Landscape areas are evenly distributed for overall area. Most of the western houses forward the street tend to have own garden while the opposite houses have less green spaces. #
Landscape Appraisal map _ made by Joen
DENSITY & MIX
Residential Public Commercial
Appraisal map with density within the high street. Compare to other areas, it includes lots of public structure such as city council, library and so on. Also there are some commercial shops in the site such as a restaurant, a hair dresser, and a post office.
On the other hand, rest of them are all residential buildings. The interesting point is the difference between southern and western part of the street. Southern part of the houses are placed on edge of the street and have own garden at back side of it. However, the buildings which are located in western part have their own yard forward to the street. It makes differences of elevation between them.
Density & Mix Appraisal map _ made by Joen
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Pictures of Wivenhoe
SCALE Appraisal map with scale within the high street. There is no structure higher than 4 story building in this area and most of them are 1 story and 2 story buildings.
1 story 2 story 3 story
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Building Scale
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1 Story 2 Story 3 Story Graph of Building Scale
Scale Appraisal map _ made by Joen
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Section A-A’ _ made by Joen
APPEARANCE
There are some problems which can notice easily if a person walks at once on the High Street. First one is about he width of pedestrian road which is too narrow to walk. It makes people take dangerous situation when they make way for another pedestrian coming across. Also, it is obviously revealed through a survey which is taken by Wivenhoe town. According to the survey, almost 70% of people consider that there are specific danger spots on pedestrian roads.4) The other one is that lots of cars are parked besides of the pedestrian road so that it spoil the view and people’s circulations. From the same survey, it asked if people have difficulty parking near their home. 10% of car owners said they often have trouble parking near their home. Therefore, it is necessary to consider these points for urban design of Wivenhoe.
# Pictures of Wivenhoe
CONCLUSION
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The High street is one of the most important area and it has a huge circulation in Wivenhoe.
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Relationship between nodes makes High street legible.
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Southern part and western part of the street has different form of elevation.
• Problems on the high street 1) 2)
Narrow pedestrian road Parallel parking through the high street
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PART B _ INTRODUCTION According to a guide entitled “Planning and Development Br iefs: A Guide to Better Practice”, released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (1998), “a site-specif ic brief forms a stepping stone between the provisions of the development plan and the requirements of a planning applic ation. The process of preparing and implementing a plannin g brief provides a framework for collecting information abou t a site, and investigating and evaluating different interests i n it.” This development brief has been written to give a succinct o verview of the site location, its current ownership and use an d also information about the client. A development vision ha s been produced in response to an outline brief issued by Wi venhoe Town Council for the development of the site, taking into consideration the conclusion from the part A of this rep ort, the urban analysis. Relevant public policy were outlined and opportunities and c onstraints imposed by the site were summarised from the sit e appraisal made, helping to identify design generators. Usin g this, development principles for the site were defined, reinf orcing the Vision. And then, proposals were made. Map illustrating the location of the sit e in Wivenhoe. Map by Clidenor Mac êdo Júnior.
THE SITE William Loveless Hall: ownership of the Wivenhoe Town Council. It is a chea p industrial building expensive to maintain built in 1964, when the town’s p opulation was roughly one quarter its present size. It is widely used for a sor t of functions from yoga classes, dinner events, etc. Public Library: ownership of the Essex County Council. A single storey 1960s flat-roofed structure.
Former Police station and houses: owners hip of the Wivenhoe Town Council. Located in the centre of the site, it is a pair of semidetached houses with a former station offic e. Previously owned by the Essex Police Aut hority, the houses are now rented out by W ivenhoe Town Council.
Wivenhoe Town Council offices: ownership of the Co lchester Borough Council, leased to Wivenhoe to Wiv enhoe Town Council. The building has no wheelchair access. Wivenhoe Town Council offices: ownership of the Colchester B orough Council, leased to Royal Mail. The building was designed for the old Urban District Council and because of that is much la rger than is needed. The ground floor is currently let to Royal M ail as a sorting office.
Map illustrating details of the site. Ma p by Clidenor Macêdo Júnior.
INTRODUCTION TO THE CLIENT
Wivenhoe town Council is the client for this project. They are one of th e key users of the site, their offices are leased to them, by the Colchest er Borough Council. The development of this site is just as important to them as the local residents. Wivenhoe town council is a parish council, the town councillors of Wivenhoe, all volunteer on an unpaid salary, thi s emphasises their dedication to the town.
From the meeting in the William Loveless Hall, Wivenhoe’s Tow n Hall, The Client outlined the history and Context of Wivenho e. The mayor outlined the town’s needs, it was brought to atte ntion that the elderly population of Wivenhoe, had been forgo tten and are being pushed out due to all the changes being br ought into the town such as, university students of Colchester moving into housing within Wivenhoe also the large increase o f family units within the town. The mayor expressed the need f or, bringing these relatives back. The need for starter homes, f or young people that are unable to afford mortgages. The nee d for larger houses was brought to light, to encourage populat ion growth. It was also highlighted, that many people work fro m home, so more office and commercial units could be create d, to encourage working relationships and social cohesion bec ause social contact is being lost.
DEVELOPMENT VISION In this very meeting with the mayor, he was asked which seven words h e would use to describe his preferences for the new development on b ehalf of Wivenhoe. He stated they would like this development to be;
“Encompassing, Light, Vibrant, a sense of Availability, Spa cious and Aesthetically pleasing.” From these preferences, for our development vision it was concluded, t hat this development in Sites A and B, should Merge the new site with the town, ensuring that the site does not stick out like a sore thumb, an gering the residents of Wivenhoe. The context and aesthetical historica l values of Wivenhoe, should be displayed in the site. The site should also include a central area, like a piazza or square style of area – in order to bring residents and visitors together in an open un -claustrophobic manner. This area should incorporate green spaces, wit h the purpose to reflect the nearby park area and show a sense of fluidi ty with this area. The external and internal of the development should be fluid and coherent, reinforcing the idea of having a social point in a nd outside of the building, so the public can interact with the environm ent. Most importantly, the new development and usage of the site should b e aesthetically pleasing and attractive. This is crucial because this devel opment is to contain important uses of the town. It should have an invi ting and familiar warm sense of atmosphere and appeal.
SITE APPRAISAL
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RELEVANT PUBLIC POLICY The policy stresses on the ability of new developments to conform to all of the health and safety requirement ch ecklist. This is highly achievable if stress-free pedestrian access routes and area allocated for parking are included in the design proposal. Using public consultation will be crucial in terms of meeting this requirement (Colchester Borough Council, 2014). It also important that possible demolitions and land acquisitions suggested are justified with relation to the fact t hat the site is in the Wivenhoe Quay area, an area of peculiar importance to the Council. This is also achievable as this proposal has identified and considered the existence of all such plans for the town (Wivenhoe Town Council Neighbourhood Plan, 2013).
Wivenhoe Conservation Area There are some areas in the historic town of Wivenhoe which are authorised by the Council as conservational are as. In these areas the Council decides on demolishing of buildings and other structures. Although there are permi tted development rights for owners to be able to work on their properties, they can be reduced or not granted at all. Within the town of Wivenhoe, areas like the Quay, Anchor Hill and Saint Mary's church are key conservational are as of the town. Interestingly, these areas contrast the other. The historical core of the town is contrasted by the ne w developments but the maritime characteristic of the Quay has been maintained. Therefore it is important to consider the significance of these areas to the people of Wivenhoe and to accommod ate these elements in future development plans of Wivenhoe. Careful justified analysis, community survey and Co uncil's concern must be obtained before demolishing any structure in and around the conservational areas of Wiv enhoe.
RELEVANT PUBLIC POLICY
Wivenhoe Neighbourhood plan This document outlines Wivenhoe’s future plans, based on 980 questionnaires answered by Wivenhoe’s businesse s, residents and university students. The questionnaire asks these groups of people simple questions such as – ho w long have they been a resident. From the information gathered, they will use this to generate proposals for Wiv enhoe’s future that these same groups will need to approve of in the 2015 referendum. This plan is crucial becaus e it focuses on the needs of the groups that are influential to the life of Wivenhoe and its future and it welcomes t heir input into this. In regards to the site, we have been provided with, the “communities and facilities” section of the Neighbourhood plan is key, because it highlights what the community need for this area. Focussing on Community buildings, 52% of people that answered the questionnaire stated there is a need for more community buildings however, 26% sta ted that there is not a need for this. Within these responses, people felt that the usage of the current buildings c ould be improved due to the “sufficiency of community provision”(wivenhoe neighbourhood plan, 2014-07-05) a ccess to these buildings should also be improved. Others also stated that bigger buildings with an improved desi gn with a more multifunctional aspect should be created.
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INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION Bianca Baidoo In hindsight, this task was important, as it widened our understanding for a town and it enabled us to see features of it and understand why the feature is the way it is. In addition, looking at Wivenhoe and it's character areas in such detail, with per sonal site visits and in depth analysis, renders us with our own understanding of the town, allowing us to interpret the urba n features of it to our own specification. Clidenor MacĂŞdo JĂşnior
Through this study, it was possible to draw a general picture of Wivenhoe. To then make a proposal for a Civic Center that meets the real needs of the city as well as the local population. This taught me how important and necessary the urban ana lysis before the project itself is. Furthermore, it was revealed the significant influence that human actions have on the urban space, as this causes interference in the socio-spatial relationships that occur in the urban environment. Desmond Ackam I found the task a big challenge when we started working through it. I think the group's planning and organisational skills were put to good use hear and the task was well allocated and well done. I have learnt a lot during this task about site anal ysis which I intend to further develop and put into practice. Jessica Faria De Souza The Wivenhoe site analysis was a great opportunity for me to reinforce my knowledge in the area and learn a lot more. I be lieve that when you study something that deeply you keep more information and get more prepared to face real situations that we are certainly going to have in a close future as architectural professionals.
INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION Ju Youn Kim With this coursework I learnt different methodologies of urban analysis, such as Lynch, Bentley and Cullen. Also, I understo od how important urban analysis is. It was also interesting work with people from other nationalities. Willnara Guimar達es
This assessment taught me how important is the urban analysis before the design project and how impactful is the human action over the built environment and how to plan in a doubtful scenario. It also helps me to think about the role of the arc hitect in the urbanism practice.
MEETING MINUTES
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REFERENCE LIST Bentley, I., Alcock, A., Murrain, P., McGlynn, S., Smith, G., 1994. Responsive environments: a manual for designers. Oxford: Ar chitectural Press. Cullen, G., 1961. The Concise Townscape. Oxford: Routledge. Department for Communities and Local Government, 1998. Planning and Development Briefs: A Guide to Better Practice. [p df] [online] London: Government of the UK. Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attach ment_data/file/7774/156363.pdf> [Accessed 3 November 2014]. Digimap, 2014. [online] Available at: <http://digimap.edina.ac.uk> [Accessed 7 November 2014]. Lynch, K., 1960. The Image of the City. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. Wivenhoe City Hall, 2014. Wivenhoe Neighbourhood Plan Questionnaire Survey. [pdf] Wivenhoe City Hall. Available at: <ht tp://wivenhoeneighbourhoodplan.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/WNP-SURVEY-FULL-DRAFT-01.pdf> [Accessed 20 October 2014]. Wivenhoe History Group, 2014. [online] Available at: <http://www.wivenhoehistory.org.uk/> [Accessed 2 November 2014]. Wivenhoe Town Council, 2008. Wivenhoe Town Plan. [pdf] Wivenhoe City Hall. Available at: <http://www.colchester.gov.uk/ CHttpHandler.ashx?id=5384&p=0> [Accessed 20 October 2014].