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A Taste oF Saltaire
A Taste oF SaLtaire swoc analysis Saltaire is a model village World Heritage Site located in Bradford in West Yorkshire. The historic site was commissioned and constructed by Sir Titus Salt, the owner of the textile mill, Salts Mill in 1851 and completed by 1872. The site encompasses both the River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool canal, providing important connections to Skipton and Leeds. Saltaire has a train station offering a fast network link to surrounding towns and cities in the area, creating an ideal base for commuters and opportunity for development.
Strengths
This project, instigated by our client, Sustainable Saltaire, will maximise opportunities in Saltaire for growing food, taking into account public and private spaces to encourage immediate hands on action for the 2013 growing season. This includes raising the profile for what can be done and providing material for funding bids, allowing the project to progress in the future, while enhancing the village’s rich heritage.
Approaching Saltaire To gain an understanding of resident’s needs and to introduce the project, a public consultation was held. With a guest speaker from another relevant project, door-todoor leafleting and posters around the village, the word spread. Research tools to collect data, such as surveys, mapping and talks created a successful event.
potential green spaces Key Public Private Existing
Good community spirit Location Strong sense of heritage Desire for project Existing growing infrastructure Sense of identity World Heritage Status - publicity/ gathering interest Good links with other similar projects/groups College with equipment and facilities. Experienced growers. Good grounds for funding. Opportunities Slope - potential irrigation system? Specific sites - road alongside station - water collection? Unused growing space? Large, varied community. Publicity through tourism. Enthusiasm to succeed. Part of a larger scheme to improve Saltaire’s health, environment and sustainability. College - resources, students, eager Unite different groups in community - draw on different strengths.
Weaknesses North facing aspect Lack of vegetative areas, and large expanses of hard materials. World Heritage Status - limiting/ restrictions. Pests Microclimates Wind Few current growing spaces Oversubscribed allotments Grid formation of housing is limiting.
Challenges Maximising use of small spaces. Finding potential growing/green space. Instigating change - without alienating residents. Positive publicity. Right plant, right place. Understanding microclimates/ growing conditions. Connecting with whole community. Finding ‘champions’ to continue project. Keeping momentum for project - managing expectations. Funding. Communication
“You did a brilliant job, really great how you consulted; was warm, open and attentive, well done you are all champions. Don’t loose touch, you are the reason we do what we do.
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MARY CLEAR (GUEST SPEAKER), INCREDIBLE EDIBLE
cONSULTATION & FEEDBACK
“A massive thank you for last night’s event. You were all fabulous, professional and exceeded all our expectations for the event. The energy and enthusiasm that you generated was awesome and it was a brilliant night. I know you all worked really hard but it absolutely paid off and you should be very pleased with yourselves. Happy client!
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SHERI-LEIGH MILES, SUSTAINABLE SALTAIRE
“You did yourselves, the project, me and the university proud.” EMMA OLDROYD, TUTOR
AN EDIBLE RETREAT Conceptual Development
Individual Design ‘An Edible Retreat’ has been designed to maximise space on all planes. As a west-facing plot, it gets a lot of sunlight throughout the day. The vertical growing features installed exploit this opportunity, to improve growing potential in the garden.. The design enables the user to relax and unwind in their space, providing privacy and a beautiful space to come home to. The features that have been installed all contribute to the productivity of the yard, as well as creating an aesthetically pleasing space both inside the garden and down the backalley, improving the aesthetics of the village as a whole.
Alternative Views
Backyard Space (BeFore)
Plan View
Reclaiming the Streets This structure for growing can be adapted to fit in the alleyways, between houses. These areas are currently overrun with wheely bins, are disused and unpleasant walkways. Reclaiming the streets creates safe places for kids to play, away from traffic, and brings greenery and beauty to reflect the architecture back into the alleys.
Bunkbed Planter This design can be adapted to fit virtually any space. Based on a child's bunkbed, the idea is to raise the planting level off the ground, without restricting space. A raised bed is created, which does not obstruct the ground plane. Seating, bins or more planting can be placed beneath. Trellises and either end offer more vertical growing potential. Likewise, netting can be hung down over the front, to provide more growing space, and hide anything unattractive stored below.
Bespoke and Recycled Planters Finding space to grow can be a challenge, as towns and cities become increasingly more compact. Coming up with creative solutions can be a fun, challenging activity that brings the community together. As a community based project, funding was lacking. Therefore, providing exciting, ‘out of the box’ ideas’ that utilise recycling and reuse, to inspire participants was fundamental to the project. The ideas are versatile; they can be applied to both front and back gardens and around the village in community spaces.
FINAL OUTPUTS the booklet Our vision was to provide the community of Saltaire with options to maximise the potential for growing edible planting (with non edible planting), through effective, innovative and simple design solutions in public and private spaces. We aimed to encourage community cohesion and ownership and to provide the tools for a collective response to the issues of the future, in particular, food security and environmental concerns. There is huge potential for the residents of Saltaire to produce their own food. To create a sustainable village which can be self-sufficient provides a sense of independence, and reduces the reliance on imported goods and non-organic produce. Our client requested that we produced a booklet that could be added to in the future as the project progressed, that would provide an overview of the potentail of Saltaire, which examples, how to get started, and available resources. This covered both community and residential growing, with an introduction to growing, specifically designed for the gardens and yards of Saltaire.
December (Winter Solstice): Afternoon (4pm approx)
December (Winter Solstice): Morning (10am approx)
June (Summer Solstice): Afternoon (4pm approx)
June (Summer Solstice): Morning (10am approx)
Light & Shade Models
A series of models created to offer a starting point to growing in Saltaire, in the ‘Right Plant, Right Place’ section. These compliment the backyard designs (as shown the the right), which provided in depth advice for layout, potential plants, growing conditions and each aspect.
Right plant, Right place
The Exhibition The exhibition was a culmination of all of the work required by and produced for the client. A colourful, engaging set of display boards which the client could take away to use to explain the project to all ages, especially children was the focal point, with a supporting intricate, handcrafted plastercine and laser-cut wooden model illustrating the concepts developed. The booklets were also available for guests to view.