Isabel Chapman Reconnecting, Revitalising and Resituating Cruddas Park This housing proposal addresses issues of separation and lack of integration across a disjointed site in Cruddas Park, in Elswick, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The existing site is hugely fragmented, both in terms of the disconnection of different building types and the disconnection of the demographic within each type. The proposed scheme knits together the fragments, connecting Elswick’s traditional, low-rise terraces with it’s high-rise residential tower blocks. Promoting activity and integration, the proposed scheme bridges disconnections and opens up the site with a new permeable streetscape, configured to open connective views and pathways. A reintroduction of the terrace typology is met with the addition of a new mid-rise typology, which blends the new and the existing aspects of the scheme together. The height of Cruddas Park Tower is mitigated, and it is grounded and reconnected with its surroundings. A community energy scheme brings residents together with a shared purpose, and the opportunity to interact with, and feel ownership of, their energy production and consumption. The scheme promotes sustainable energy behaviour, increases activity and promotes integration between residents of both the new housing and the existing housing.
email: isabelchapman57@gmail.com