Old Maltings Site, Prospect Row, Cambridge: Design and Development Briefing
Date: February 2010 Client team: Maureen Donnelly, 1a Prospect Row, Cambridge Prof. G.E. Lloyd, 2 Prospect Row, Cambridge
Team of advisors: Angela Koch & Fabiana Panetta
We’d like to thank Tristan Rees Roberts of Freeland Rees Roberts Architects for his contribution to this study, particularly for Option 1. ImaginePlaces Ltd. 66 Bartholomew Rd. London NW5 2al angela@imagineplaces.co.uk fabiana.panetta@gmail.com
Please note this is an e-document
www.imagineplaces.co.uk
and not optimised for printing.
Contents: A) Site & scope B) DNA of the neighbourhood area C) DNA of the Old Maltings ‘island’ D) Emerging design and development principles E) Applying the emerging principles F) Next steps
A) Site & scope
Old Maltings site: - 0.05ha of land, located in The Kite area. - former Maltings, now underused/unused. - Note: Exterior wall of main building is potentially of structural relevance for adjacent properties.
What you asked as to do: Inject new thinking/ideas for a residential-led redevelopment of the site. Our ambition: A fresh look at design and development principles and broad-brush options that will facilitate a renewed discussion between members of the local community, the landowner/developer team and the Council. Methodology: - Review of National& Local Planning Policies - Review of The Kite Conservation Area Appraisal, CCC, (1996) - Review of main Area Committee Report (28 July 2010) - Review of submitted Planning Applications for the site (2009&2010) - Meeting & discussions with local residents - Site visit - Internal Design Workshop & Conversations with Tristan Rees Roberts
Goal: The development makes a positive contribution to the character of the neighbourhood.
Approach: Use the DNA of the ‘island site’ & neighbourhood as building blocks for a confident 21st century addition to the Kite.
Characteristics of the development: Age well Surprising!
Smart Accommodating
“Confident 21st century”
Respectful
Great metabolism
Sunny Flexible
B) DNA of the neighbourhood area
02
05 Site 01
03 04
01 City Centre 02 Grafton Centre 03 East Road
800m
04 Parker’s Pieces 05 Christ’s Pieces Destinations: Shopping/Parks/Leisure/Services/Education
01+02 Community College
04
03 East Road facilities 04 Grafton Centre 05 Parker’s Pieces Site
01
02
03
05
Destinations: Shopping/Park/Leisure/Services/Education
‘Car-free’ lanes/links (see plan on next page) 01
02
03
04
01
Site
04
02 03
Urban Structure: North-South and East-West links&’car-free’ lanes (01-04
01
03
02 Highest buildings in the neighbourhood
01
02
03 03
Confluence of different building heights&lines, materials, historic fabric
01
02
03
Plot division, building lines, boundary treatments, parking solution
02
03
01
Plot division, building lines, building orientation, built form
Street by street
Residential market: TOP 12 - most expensive streets in CB1 in 2011 (data from January 1995 as recorded by HM Land Registry, highlighted in green streets adjacent to Old Maltings site) 1
Station Road £1,803,200
2
Lyndewode Road £937,980
3
Templemore Close £903,471
4
Warkworth Terrace £760,117
5
Willis Road
6
Warkworth Street £741,628
7
Tenison Avenue £703,741
8
Glisson Road £703,227
9
Worts Causeway £691,295
10
Melbourne Place £666,185
11
Prospect Row £628,900
12
Church Road
£745,463
£613,694
Prospect Row/Melbourne Place node - Focal point for local neighbourhood (3 pubs, hairdresser) - Route Grafton Centre to Parker’s Pieces - Juxtaposition of one/two/three storeys buildings with tall chimneys - Distinct corner buildings (1 storey) - Attractive vista from Eden Street - Mixture of rendered (light colours) and yellow/red brickwork
Site
Prospect Row – West, pre 1900, Residential - Terraces - Narrow street - Variance in width of the plots (4 to 12 m) - Building heights (2 to 3 storeys) + some basements - Continuity created by: - Stock bricks painted white throughout - Strong building line - Alignment and same shape of the windows - Repetition of a 2-bays module. - Vertical emphasis of fenestration & chimneys stacks - Gauge flat arches, lintels and reveals - Slate roofs
Prospect Row – East, post WWII Residential - Fragmented building line of the new Brandon Development - Trees in the back gardens of Warkworth street enclose vista - Lack of enclosure on southern side
Warkworth Street, pre 1900 Residential - large Terraces: - large plots/ same rhythm - Strong character - one typology with repeating roofscape (normal side gable) - 3
½
storeys + chimneys (approx. 12 metres tall)
- Small front gardens with external staircase leading to entrance - With basements - Back gardens fronting onto Prospect Row (West) - Gault bricks - Orange concrete tiled roofs and decorative elements
Melbourne Place - Residential properties along pedestrian lane - Variance in the width of the plots - Strong building line with basements - Verdant character with mature trees - Residential properties: 2 storeys + extensions - Normal side gable with strong vertical character created by chimneys - Gault brick + various light coloured renderings - Slate roofs - Sash windows
Parkside Community College - Courtyard development - 2 and 3 storeys with higher bell tower along Melbourne Place - Set back from the lane; landscaped and hardscape areas - Metal fencing allows for visual permeability - Hipped and cross gable roofs (varied) - Exploits difference in level of courtyard to gain floorspace - Approximately same height of the Warkworth Terraces - Red brickwork
Gable & roofscape
Normal gable
Flat roof
Rooflights/ skylights are characteristic of the area, providing daylight without encroaching
Site
on privacy.
Local solutions for more natural daylight in buildings.
View from back of Prospect Row to Eden Street.
C) DNA of the Old Maltings ‘island’
Old Maltings Site: - 0.05ha of land, located in The Kite area. - former Maltings, now underused/unused. - Exterior wall of main building is potentially of structural relevance for adjacent properties.
N
Orientation
S
Edge condition: Lack of edge definition but open&green along southern side of Prospect Row (narrow street).
Historic uses & edge treatment: 1888 - Corner Prospect Row/ Warkworth Street shows row of trees as a strong edge treatment & no buildings. - Cricketer’s pub is the only building (1 storey) facing the southern side of Prospect Row (still the case today).
Site
Site
Opportunity to strengthen the link between local focal points along key neighbourhood route.
Opportunity for social interaction: meeting/resting/playing/parking
02 Site
01 Space for resting/meeting/
01
playing/parking? ... 02 Possible link between site & beergarden?
DNA of ‘island ensemble’: Character through brick walled courtyards: Daylight flooded spaces (sunny spots,
garden,
conservatory )
Prevailing typology: ‘long house with courtyard’
D) Emerging design & development principles
Local Plan Policy: Key ‘saved policies’
3/3 Safeguarding Environmental Character 3/4 Responding to Context 3/7 Creating Successful Places 3/11 The Design of External Spaces 3/12 The Design of New Buildings will be permitted where it can be demonstrated that they: a. have a positive impact on their setting in terms of location on the site, height, scale and form, materials, detailing, wider townscape and landscape impacts and available views; b. are convenient, safe, and accessible for all users and visitors; c. are constructed in a sustainable manner, easily adaptable and which successfully integrate refuse and recycling facilities, cycle parking, and plant and other services into the design. 4/11 Conservation Areas 6/8 Convenience Shopping 8/2 Transport Impact 8/4 Walking and Cycling Accessibility 8/10 Off-Street Car Parking 8/18 Water, sewerage and drainage infrastructure 10/1 Infrastructure improvements
Key Policies from Kite Area Character Appraisal
7.01 THE CITY COUNCIL WILL SEEK TO RETAIN TRADITIONAL BOUNDARY TREATMENTS AND ENCOURAGE THEIR PROPER REPAIR AND REINSTATEMENT WHERE PREVIOUSLY REMOVED. 7.02 WHERE TRADITIONAL BOUNDARIES ARE INCAPABLE OF REINSTATEMENT, THE CITY COUNCIL WILL ENCOURAGE A CONSISTENT APPROACH TO THE DESIGN, MATERIALS AND ALIGNMENT OF NEW BOUNDARIES TO ENSURE THAT THEY RESPECT THE CHARACTER OF THE SURROUNDING AREA. 7.08 NEW BUILDINGS MUST RESPECT THE CHARACTER, CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA. WHILST NEW BUILDING DESIGN WILL BE GUIDED BY SUCH FACTORS AS THE HEIGHT, BUILDING LINE, PLOT WIDTH, BUILDING MATERIALS AND ARCHITECTURAL DETAILING OF SURROUNDING BUILDINGS, THE CITY COUNCIL WILL ENCOURAGE INNOVATIVE MODERN DESIGN IN APPROPRIATE LOCATIONS. 7.10 THE CITY COUNCIL WILL ENCOURAGE THE RETENTION OF THE AREA’S PREDOMINANTLY RESIDENTIAL CHARACTER WHILST RECOGNISING THE IMPORTANCE OF SMALL SCALE MIXED USES TO THE COMMUNITY AND CHARACTER OF THE AREA. 7.101 The Kite is clearly a residential area with a strong community identity which sustains and is sustained by the small pubs, shops and other mixed uses which are a vital part of the area.
Key Policies from Kite Area Character Appraisal 7.081 (…) if a new building is to blend with its neighbours, there must be a consistency particularly of scale between new and old. Some variations in roof heights, window and door design and even building materials may be possible within the range and proportions of the features of the surrounding traditional buildings. For example on City Road, a number of properties have painted walls and so a new building might have a similar treatment. 7.111 The Kite is an important historic area, and local residents have rightly identified the impact which parked cars have on its character. Although in exceptional cases, the City Council’s Parking Standards might be reduced, a zero requirement is unlikely because of the potential knock-on effects onto already heavily-parked streets. Therefore unless parking can be provided in a way which preserves or improves the character of the area, and meets technical criteria for safe operation (eg. size of parking spaces, room for manoeuvring), then the application will be refused. 7.15 THE CITY COUNCIL WILL ENCOURAGE THE HIGHWAY AUTHORITY TO IMPROVE THE CONDITION OF FOOTWAYS AND FOOTPATHS IN THE AREA, AND PROMOTE THE USE OF SURFACING MATERIALS WHICH WILL ENHANCE THE CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE OF THE AREA.
List of Supplementary Planning Documents: - Cambridge City Council (2007) – Sustainable Design and Construction - Applicants need to provide a sustainability checklist and statement giving evidence of how essential design consideration set in the local plan are met: urban design, transport, movement and accessibility, energy, recycling, waste facilities, biodiversity and pollution. - Cambridge Landscape Character Assessment Cambridge City Council (2003) - Conservation Area Appraisal The Kite (1996) - Cambridge City Council (2010) – Planning Obligation Strategy - Cambridgeshire Design Guide For Streets and Public Realm (2007)
Suggested documents to acknowledge are: - Design Quality Indicators Construction Industry Council (2002) - Lifetime Home Standard Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2000) - Meeting Part M and Designing Lifetime Homes Joseph Rowntree Foundation (1999) - English Partnerships Design and Quality Standards (2005) - Code for Sustainable Homes DCLG (2006)
Goal: The development makes a positive contribution to the character of the neighbourhood.
Approach: Use the DNA of the island site & neighbourhood as building blocks for a confident 21st century addition to the Kite.
Characteristics of the development: Age well Surprising!
Smart Accommodating
“Confident 21st century�
Respectful
Great metabolism
Sunny Flexible
Design and development principles for a 21st century development. 01 Buildings shall demonstrate ‘Long Life - Loose fit’ > Planned for adaptability and different uses in the future. 02 Buildings shall comply with English Partnerships Space Standards. 03 Buildings shall be built for people of all abilities > Access for all.
04 Buildings shall have an outstanding energy efficiency rating/e.g. PassivHaus standard and built the low carbon way. 05 The development shall maximise access to daylight supporting the quality of living&working experiences e.g. through public/semiprivate/private amenity spaces. 06 The development shall increase public amenity space in the area.
Design and Development Principles - Local DNA:
07 The ‘island site’ constitutes a space where different character areas converge responding by a distinct typology: the ‘long house with courtyard’ flanking the perimeter of the site. The existing building typologies within the ‘island site‘ shall inform the built form of the new development. 08 The maximum building height shall be 3 storeys. A building of 1 to 2 storeys could be located parallel to the rear of 43 Warkworth street, possibly with a flat roof to reflect the pattern of corner buildings at Prospect Row/Melbourne Place junction. 09 Orientation of the new buildings shall maximise daylight exposure and minimise possible privacy constraints.
Design and Development Principles - Local DNA:
10 Courtyards, rooflights and skylights are a character forming aspect of the area, providing daylight without encroaching on privacy. The new development shall explore the use of these features. 11 Openness of the north-eastern corner (Warkworth Street/Prospect Row) shall be maintained and the opportunity to accommodate a neighbourhood space, for informal social interaction, explored. The opportunity to establish a visual link with the existing beergarden, through openings in the existing wall, should also be investigated.
Design and Development Principles - Local DNA:
12 The majority of the existing perimeter wall of the main building shall be retained. It’ll add character, provide historic reference and may provide structural support to adjacent properties. 13 The development shall use ‘gable’ and ‘flat’ roofs, decked in grey slate in character with other buildings on the island site. 14 The development shall use brick as the main building material, painted in light colours, particularly on north-facing walls. This is in harmony with Prospect Row terraces and other buildings within the ‘island site’.
E) Applying the emerging principles
Option 01 Buildings Atrium/Conservatory Garden/Courtyard Public Space Shared Courtyard
Option 01
Option 01
Option 01
Option 01
Option 01
Option 01
Private courtyard with retractable skylight.
Option 01 - Public space (approx. 100m2) - Semi-Private courtyard (approx. 35 m2) - Buildings with private atriums /courtyards - 4 Buildings (1.5/2 storeys) Approx. 360 m2 Gross Floor Area Building 1: 100m2 Building 2: 80m2 Building 3: 100m2 Building 4: 80m2 > Range of RESIDENTIAL/LIVE-WORK occupier models accommodated
Option 02 Buildings Atrium/Conservatory Garden Public Space Shared Courtyard
Option 02
Option 02
Option 02
Option 02
Option 02
Option 02
N
N
Atrium-House Typology (10.5mx6.8m)
S
Option 02
+ with rooftop terrace +
N
S
N
Full ‘gable’
‘Steep gable’
rooflights, partially
provides space with
retractable.
rooflights.
Option 02 - Public space (approx. 100m2) - Semi-Private courtyard (approx. 65m2) - Buildings with private atrium, double height (building 1 to 3) 4 Buildings (2.5/2 storeys) Approx. 570m2 Gross Floor Area Building 1: 150m2 + 25m2 Building 2: 150m2 Building 3: 160m2 Building 4: 80m2 (flat roofed) > Range of RESIDENTIAL&OFFICE/STUDIO occupier models possible; Length of building footprint 1 to 3 can be shortened to increase distance from southern perimeter wall and provide private outdoor amenity space.
Initial Assessment of Options 1 & 2 THE DEVELOPMENT is... ACCOMMODATING RESPECTFUL FLEXIBLE SUNNY GREAT METABOLISM SURPRISING! AGE WELL SMART Goal: The development makes a positive contribution to the character of the Kite.
OPTION 01 OPTION 02
F) Next steps Working together: - Presentation & discussions between other members of local community, the Landowner/developer and the Local Authority with the aim to produce a plan of action.
Technical tasks: - Cost & Viability assessment of broad-brush options. - Filling gaps in current analysis/option appraisal. - Using broad-brush options to develop preferred detailed option.
END ...