West Bar - The Redevelopment. Creating a vibrant, urban community. | MAY FAIR COURT | | CLIENT: UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD | | THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS | | 100182246 |
This site lies on the outskirts of Sheffield’s city centre. It has great transport links - notably the A61 which has views across the site and leads to the M1. The front of the sight will be highly visible and offers opportunity for business developement. Originally Gibralter Street which runs through the site was one of the main routes into Sheffield, however, this has been superceded by the ring road. There is an opportunity to reintroduce this as an important route. The site currently has little use other than surface carparking and a dog’s shelter. Gibralter Street has several shops which mainly offer DIY goods. The surrounding area has recently undergone development - Kelham Island - and there are several new housing development close by.
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These four images below show the views into the site from the surrounding area - the main glimpses that you would catch from driving by. This is important to know where to put buildings and businesses. Views three and four are from the main ring road, View two is the view you would get if coming from the centre, and View one is from Gibralter Road which is the quietest of the three.
VIEW ONE
VIEW TWO
VIEW THREE
VIEW FOUR
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
DESIGN REPORT - Introduction
THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS | WEST BAR | 100182246
Old buildings with history and character on site, good to attract potential site users - STRENGTH
SOCIAL:
Views into the site from busy road - a lot of people will see this space - OPPORTUNITY
Very little activity, day use very little for the restaurant and pub, minimal use of other decorating shops. - WEAKNESS
Potential to use links into the city and create a route (like the gold route) - OPPORTUNITY
There are a variety of users on site: workers, builders using the shops, people waiting for the bus etc. However there is no sense of community and people do not wait around for long. The area feels run down and unsafe as it is not well-maintained or well lit.
PHYSICAL:
New housing nearby = potential users for the site if the area becomes better developed - STRENGTH
Difficult to access some parts of the site, a lot of oppressive fencing surrounding parts - WEAKNESS
Buildings are mostly Victorian, red-brick buildings on-site, 2-3 storeys high with some attractive features: aside from Mayfair Court - 6 storeys. There is some noise pollution from the inner ring road and illegal tipping and general day-to day litter on vacant sites.The site slopes down towards valley base, so limited views over Sheffield. The vegetation is predominantly unmanaged, wild buddleia along site boundariesnand well maintained mown grass near the A61 ring road, with wildflower meadows in the summer.
ECONOMIC: There are several businesses which offer mainly DIY goods. Many of the shops are empty or boarded up and there is a lack of potential customers. The only business which seems busy (in the evening) is the Indian restuarant. There are several new housing developments close by which could increase the foot traffic in the area. The nearby Kelham island area has also jsut undergone redevelopment.
Open space with potential to build on / use - OPPORTUNITY
PLANNING: Area feels ‘unsafe’ and run down - THREAT
Great Location- Central, short walk from the city centre and close to transport links - STRENGTH Scale of Mayfair Court – Could its size dwarf the rest of the site? - THREAT
Under the Unitary Development Plan 1998 the area has been designated for a ‘general industries quarter’, although in a recession they may no longer be appropriate. The West Bar Interim Planning Guidance 2006 states that there should be a mix of uses – housing and offices on upper levels, with active frontages at ground level. The design and construction should be sustainable.
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
DESIGN REPORT - Key Issues
Noise pollution from inner ring road links travelling into the city centre - WEAKNESS THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS | WEST BAR | 100182246
DESIGN REPORT - Design Principles and Vision
1. Create an active frontage along Corporation Street - this should provide a range of ammenities and facilities which could draw people to the area. This should be combined with office and residential use on the upper floors. 2. Bring more people into the area - by providing a wide range of activites and services to create a more vibrant community. 3. Provide a green infrastructure throughout the site by linking together green sapces , this enhances the journey through and has ecological value. 4. Develop circulation routes on site and link to the surround area - this will improve access to and circulation around the site, it will also draw in those travelling to/ from the city centre. 5. Give West Bar a unique character - through the building facades, diverse planting and distinctive design features.
VISION FOR THE SITE Through this redevelopment the site will become a central hub of activity both during the day and at night with clear links to the city centre. It will draw people in with a range of facilities and attractive green spaces; a refreshing break from everyday life. The site will become a significant part of the West bar redevelopment as a welcoming gateway; combining the vibrancy of Kelham Island and the bustle of West Street. Key features of the design include: creating a greater sense of community and pride for the area, improving the green infrastructure and developing links with surrounding sites. The new design will boast stunning modern facades and quality materials and landscaping to create a desirable location for any potential business.
SKETCHES AND PRECEDENT IMAGES
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
PRINCIPLES
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DESIGN REPORT - Evolution of Ideas 1. INITIAL CONCEPT / ZONING
Retain car park
Link to green space
Wide pavement combined with vegetation
Option 2. Option 1.
Green space
Initial concept was to retain the existing carpark but make it smaller. Then have a row shops alongside Corporation Street to have an active frontage onto the road; with offfices and residential uses above those. The adjacent site was then to be a Community Park.
Site analysis taken from previous Group Work, Team 2A, 2012
FINANCIAL • This option has the greatest gross floor space and so is the most proftiable of the three options, (40%).
DESIGN • This option has a good balance of green space and buildings. • There are no clear paths through the site and this would have poor circulation. • There isn’t a clear layout to the buildings and businesses hidden fron view would not be as desireable. • Having town houses on the busy roadside would make them difficult to sell as they would be in a poor location. FINANCIAL • This design was also very profitable, (36%).
DESIGN
Option 3.
This design was very flawed as the carpark would not bring in much revenue - meaning the site would not be profitable. The proportion of the site that has buildings on is far too small to make it a viable scheme.
• There are active frontages all along Corporation Street which woul be good for businesses. • There is private open space for the residents of the surrounding houses which is shielded from the noise of the ring road by the buildings. • The undercroft carpark provides ample parking but is hidden from view. It also serves as access to the businesses. • The buildings are too tall and close together - they would be very imposing on the site and our of character for the area.
• This is the greenest option and is most environmentally friendly as it creates a green corridor through the site. • This option creates the best public spaces as it has internal courtyards and open green space. • There is a broad range of facilities and building uses - e.g a gym. • Some of the buildings a quite tall to compensate for having a smaller footprint. FINANCIAL • This option is the least profitable as it has an almost even split of builings and green space, (12%). There are several things I could do to increase profits significantly.
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
DESIGN
Active frontage on road and accessible at back
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DESIGN REPORT - Final Proposal • Courtyard - this is shielded from the road by the buildings and has active frontages facing into it, (see visualisation 1 and section 1). This space is surrounded by bars, restuarants and retail. it will create a busy courtyard which will be used during the day and late evening. Similar feel to Leopold Sq. This will draw more people into the area and create a centre for the surrounding residents. • Active frontages onto the ring road - this will ensure that the maximum number of people see them to bring business into the area. (see map1) • The boulevard along the road side ( see final plan) creates a more pleasant route along the sight and will encourage people to walk this way to/from the city centre. It also creates a visual and audio barrier between the outdoor spaces and the ring road. • Parking and Access - There is a carpark across the road which can be used, and there is parking along Gibralter St. There is basement parking in building 7 (see final plan) and undercroft parking in building 8 (see final plan). The road access behind the buildings means that cars will not intrude onto the site and the vegetation shields it from view. • ‘Gateway’ building - this building will act as a landmark / gateway to the West Bar area if travelling from the centre. It will give the site an identity and will incorporate striking design and quality build. It is taller than the surrounding buildings to stand out. • The Urban Park - (see visualisation 1) this provides an oasis for the surrounding residents and workers. The water feature creates a calming noise over the sound from the road and the trees and vegetation shield it. The businesses facades open onto the courtyard area and serve the workers and visitors to the area, (see sections 1 and 3). This is a more public space than the courtyard. This is vital to the design as the open space is needed so that the height of the buildings do not impose on the outdoor area. • The buildings are ranging from 3-7 storeys with the taller buildings situated towards the road and away from the current buildings on site. I feel that this is appropriate as it is under the limit (8 storeys) and I want them to make an impact and stand out visually when travelling past. There is already one large building on site, Mayfair Court; which is 6 storeys high and is visually attractive. The large amount of green space prevents the spaces between from feeling small and dark. • The adjacent site has a building of office and residential use as people would not know it was there so retail would not be an appropriate use. There is a small shared courtyard style garden for the residents and ample parking on the ground level. I have addressed Principle 1 as I have created an active frontage of retails and businesses along Corporation Street. I also have mixed use above the retail floor. I have addressed Principle 2 by creating a restuarant/ bar courtyard which will draw people in. The pocket park and surrounding ammenities should also bring people into the area and provide facilities for the community. The gym will draw people in from further away; could be used by people to/ from work. Principle 3 was to provide green infrastructure - the design partly does this although building 5 (see plan) partly blocks this although the vegetation works around its edges. I have created a boulevard along Corporation Street which will encourage people to walk this way (Principle 4). This design gives a unique character to the area by providing interesting public spaces which work amongst the buildings and with the diverse vegetation. The ‘gateway’ building is a design feature which also aims to give the community character; this shows how the design meets Principle 5.
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
KEY ASPECTS OF THE DESIGN
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FINAL DESIGN - Masterplan
PUBLIC SEMI-PRIVATE
BUILDING 5 -
4 x 120m2
5 x 300m2
G - Retail 1 - Offices 2 - Residential 3 - Residential
G - Retail 1 - Offices 2 - Offices 3 - Residential 4 - Residential
BUILDING 2 -
BUILDING 6 -
7 x 400m2
3 x 200m2
G - Retail 1 - Offices 2 - Offices 3 - Offices 4 - Residential 5 - Residential 6 - Residential
G - Retail 1 - Offices 2 - Residential
BUILDING 3 -
BUILDING 7 -
3 x 100m2
6 x 350m2
G - Retail 1 - Offices 2 - Offices 3 - Offices
G - Gym 1 - Offices 2 - Offices 3 - Offices 4 - Residential 5 - Residential
Supporting Map 1 shows the zoning of the open space: Along the the road side is all public and there is public access tp the buildings. The semi-private space is for the immediate buildings use, although could be entered by the public. The private areas are soley for the use of businesses. The large orange area in the centre of the site is road access for all the businesses in the site as it runs behind all of them and is not visible from outside this area as it is shielded by vegetation and trees. Map 2 shows the public thresholds to the buildings - predominently retail access for customers and clients, it shows how people would see it and where it would be most visible. This allows you to see where on the site would be busiest durng the da and attract the greatest number of people. It also shows where the sections relate to. Map 3 Shows the main routes through both for people (blue) and cars (pink). The main route is alongside the ringroad as creating a route through the centre would cut up an already small site. Keeping the existing area at the back of the shops for access means less disruption to the site.
PRIVATE
1. Zoning 2. Active Thresholds (Public)
3. Main circulation routes
1.
A0 A1 B1
1.
BUILDING 4 -
BUILDING 8 -
3 x 120m2
5 x 450m2
G - Retail 1 - Retail 2 - Offices
G - Undercroft Parking 1 - Offices 2 - Offices 3 - Maisonettes 4 - Maisonettes
2.
B0
4.
3.
C0
C1
2.
5. 6. 8.
7.
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
BUILDING 1 -
3. THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS | WEST BAR | 100182246
DESIGN REPORT - Visualisations
2. Urban Park - an oasis of calm.
3. Mayfair Court Redevelopment - creating a vibrant, urban community.
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
1. Central Courtyard Space - a calm retreat from the busy street.
THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS | WEST BAR | 100182246
DESIGN REPORT - Sections
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
1.
A1
A0 Section 1 shows the view down into the central courtyard which will be the heart of this vibrant community. The two Liquidambar trees frame this and make the entrance stand out. There is a wetland garden in a central channel which gathers rain water and adds aesthetics to the space. Section 2 shows the view if travelling along Corporation Street; an oasis of green stands out from its surroundings. The ‘gateway’ buildings structures this space. Section 3 shows how the road access is hidden by shrubs and trees and how the spaces between the buildings work.
3.
2.
B0
B1 C0
C1 THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS | WEST BAR | 100182246
DESIGN REPORT - Precedent Images
Leopold Square
This is the character I would like in the Central Courtard in Mayfair Court Redevelopment as it combines a public space with restuarants / bars; which is the use of the ground floors of the surrounding buildings.
Centrepoint Building ‘With a prime city centre location, the new Centrepoint Building is one of Belfast’s principal landmark office buildings. Located at the corner of Bedford Street and Ormeau Avenue, the site forms the gateway into the south Belfast corridorfrom Belfast City Centre.’ (Conway Group). This gives an idea of what the gateway building in the Mayfair Court site could look like - they are both significant landmarks and will define the area around them. IKON Gallery Courtyard This courtyard in Birmingham is part of the IKON Gallery. It is a modern, contemporary design which manages to feel warm and welcoming; despite the lack of vegetation and its minimalist approach. On the Mayfair Court site this is the feel the central courtyard will have - working with the height of the buildings to create a vibrant meeting place. It combines the minimalist design with the business of active frontages and restuarants. The space is flexible as the central space has no specific use / ownership over it.
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
This square which has been redeveloped works with the existing historic buildings to create what feels like a very modern space. This has been done with the use of contemporary street furniture and quality materials.
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DESIGN REPORT - Character These images give an idea of what materials will be used and how they will work together and compliment each other to create a quality finish. They also show the overall appearance of the buildings on site and how they will work with the landscaping and space around them. These are a selection of possible street furniture pieces and design details that could be used on site to improve its quality of build and user experience.
West Bar - The Redevelopment.
Building a New Character
THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS | WEST BAR | 100182246