[RUARAIDH HORTON] URBAN DESIGNER
personal statement An original thinker with a flair for creative solutions Urban Design is about making connections between people and places, movement, nature and the built fabric. My studies, combined with my worldwide travelling experience, has given me a broader perspective making me more resourceful and enabling me to compare
[RUARAIDH HORTON] Urban Designer MA Planning, MSc Urban Design
Contact: A: 4A Brent House London, E9 6QQ
different cultures and cities.
profile •
Nationality
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Profession Urban Design
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Education
T: (+44) 141 339 1414 M: (+44) 77 3933 0247 E: r.horton@hotmail.co.uk
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Photoshop
British
MSc Urban Design University of Strathclyde MA Town & Regional Planning University of Dundee Languages
English (native)
French (competent)
Illustrator AutoCAD InDesign Excel SketchUP Hand illustrations
employment history
what defines me?
PRP Architects Assistant Urban Designer
- Passionate
- Collaboration with peers
- Thinking critically
- Highly motivated
- Intimate design (human scale)
- Hardworking
- Desire to explore and expand
- Flair for innovative thinking
14/11/16 - present
Page / Park Architects Urban Design Work Experience 03/05/16 – 27/05/16
Hays Recruitment Construction worker 01/11/14 – 01/10/15
career summary PRP Architects
Since joining PRP’s London studio in 2016, Ruaraidh has helped collate vision documents, D&A statements, capacity assessments and masterplanning optioneering. As an assistant urban designer, Ruaraidh has been involved in numerous garden city proposals outside of London. His role has helped shaped visions for mixed-use schemes of up to 6,000 new homes. While gaining valuable experience in suburban masterplanning, Ruaraidh has also been involved in competitive bids and development frameworks.
Page / Parks Architects (internship)
As part of a close collaboration between PAGE / Parks Architects and the University of Strathclyde, Ruaraidh did some work experience with us. He attended client meetings, site visits + undertook small tasks in masterplanning. He showed a good understanding of placemaking principles and had good attention to detail.
Urban Design Studio - ‘a city within a city – living lanes’
This year (2015/16) the class undertook analysis of over 100 city centre lanes in Glasgow. From this analysis, Ruaraidh was able to Formulate core design strategies to convey responsible design solutions within multi-disciplined groups which saw him go onto win the RTPI West of Scotland student Prize.
accomplishments •
RTPI West of Scotland Student Prize Winner 2016 Springfield Court - ‘a city within a city - Living Lanes’ project
“Life, space, buildings - in that order” - Jan Gehl
01 Lodge Hill Vision 02 Stevenage Regeneration Framework 03 Living Lanes 04 Springfield Court 05 Lanes Toolkit
LONDON
01 LODGE HILL Vision
TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED & SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY
Lodge Hill will be a sustainable and integrated community, capitalising on its exceptional setting, complementing and supporting nearby settlements and the Hoo Peninsula as a whole.
Type: Masterplan Client: HCA (Homes & Community Agency) Size: 329ha Location: Hoo Peninsula, Medway (South-East England) Status: On-going proposal Role: Assistant urban designer The Homes and Community Agency is promoting 326 hectares of land at Lodge Hill, Hoo Peninsula (southeast England) as part of a sustainable and integrated mixed-use community comprising new homes, education, commercial, retail and employment opportunities all set within a network of retained and new landscape features at the former Lodge Hill military base. Lodge Hill barracks is one of 12 military sites the Government is hoping to develop in order to help ease the housing shortage in the UK. The site faces many complex ecological constraints and therefore a complex solution must be provided given the importance of the site to the RSPB and Natural England.
HOO PENINSULA
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London
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Context Analysis The military significance and the strategic crossing of the River Medway and the Chatham naval dockyard paved the way for the Medway Towns of Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham. The site sits within the Thames Gateway Regeneration area which is the largest single regeneration initiative in North West Europe and the largest area of brownfield land in the South of England.
Medway Towns
HOO PENINSULA
used dis
rail
line
SITE
Hoo St
LONDON
Werburgh
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Wainscott
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A M E D W
A2 Strood
Lodge Hill M2 Motorway A2 Motorway Train station station Rail Settlements Settlements Farmland // greenspace greenspace
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M2
Rochester
Chatham
Gillingham
Rainham
As the military functions on site gradually went into disrepair, mature vegetation became apparent on site making the site a home for many habitats including nightingales of national significance, GCN (great crested newts), badgers and bat roosts (european protected).
01 LODGE HILL VISION CONSTRAINTS TO DEVELOPMENT
The hedgerows that define the region were used to separate land ownership now act as key ecological corridors for various habitats and animals.
With AMEC Foster Wheeler acting as ecological consultant it was important to identify key constraints. The site has many complex issues such as: UXO’s (unexploded ordnance), WWI heritage assets, nightingale habitats, bat roosts, ancient woodland and SSSI’s (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) and high pressured gas pipes.
Deangate ridge and north chattenden ridge form the distinctive topography of the site, it is virtually screened to the surrounding area - a key component the military used to store ammunitions during the first World War.
North Chattenden ridge
Deangate ridge
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Environment
Community
Economy
Ecology concept
Green cushion concept
Connectivity
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Lodge Hill Masterplan Concept 1 2,000 Homes The first option has pulled back from major ecologically sensitive areas and seeks to maximise housing within the Chattenden Barracks, magazine and Lodge Hill Camp.
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Lodge Hill Masterplan Concept 2 500 Homes This option prevents development on any of the constraints and looks to build on solely previously developed land within Chattenden Barracks.
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Towards the Old Town
Upgraded train station
02 STEVENAGE REGENERATION FRAMEWORK Theatre
Type: Commision Client: MACE Size: 5ha Location: Stevenage, Status: ongoing Role: Assistant urban designer
Upgraded public square, Civic Hub & Clock Tower
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Ruaraidh co-produced early analysis of this prominent town centre site just 20 minutes north of King’s Cross. He worked briefly within the masterplan workshop and had a valuable input into the submitted document which ended up winning the competitive dialogue competition.
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Phase one will be delivered in October this year.
Southern access Projected axonometric of Stevenage Town Centre
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CGI of Stevenage Blvd looking towards Clock Tower
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02 STEVENAGE REGENERATION FRAMEWORK
TRAIN STATION
PRP Architects are one of four companies competing for the prize of deliving the Stevenage Regeneration Framework. These sections and plans were part of the initial stages.
THEATRE To the south of the town centre the idea was to create a green oasis and arrival space from the college and supermarket into Queensway street.
SUPERMARKET
CIVIC HUB
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The regeneration of the first New Town is built around the strong heritage of Stevenage where the centre was pedestrianised - a radical idea during the post-war period.
LEISURE CENTRE From visits to the centre - staying activities were popular to residents and visitors and encouraged within the new framework.
Residential streets were designed to be leafy boulevards with on-street and private parking
OLD TOWN
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03 Living Lanes Glasgow City Centre Type: MSc Urban Design Project Client: Strathclyde University / Glasgow City Council Size: c.300 ha / 3,000,000 m2 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Status: Complete Role: Student/research WINNER OF THE RTPI STUDENT PRIZE 2016
issues realised
ill perceived
During this year’s intensive studio project ‘Living Lanes: a city within a city’, students at the University of Strathclyde were part of the council’s efforts to revitalize the lanes (alleyways) within Glasgow’s city centre. The structure of the studio involved two steps, first analysing the lanes and their meaning. The second step was to formulate strategies collaboratively to help regenerate and breathe new life into them. but places of promise...
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living
leisure
work
George Square Overall the lanes combined area is nearly the same amount of public space as George Square living
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X4
All lanes were given a tag number, assessed for their potential and performed certain functions: - Residential - Office - Leisure - George Square
03 Living Lanes
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Glasgow City Centre Analysis Building on the analysis from the ‘Living Lanes’ project, it became apparent that there was an under-performing cluster of lanes and courts that once formed an intimate alleyway network nestled between the busy Buchanan Street and Queen Street. The project aims to pierce through the block, creating a more legible route for pedestrians to access its ‘genius loci’ throughout the block without breaking its continuity to create a truely people-centred environment that can be found in places such as Melbourne and Toronto.
1. site location 2. key transport corridors 3. transport service zones 4. street activity (centrality)
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North Court Lane
Royal Bank Place
Exchange Place
McCormack Lane
Springfield Court
Buch anan
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Stree
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Gallery of Modern Art
Guild Hall Springfield Court
Royal Exchange Square
Royal Exchange Square
Quee
n Str eet
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1. existing Buchanan St section 2. existing Queen St section 3. land uses 4. existing plan
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Key: Commercial Eatery Offices Bank Residential Civil Vacant
04 SPRINGFIELD COURT Glasgow City Centre History + Evolution
The Royal Exchange building, now the GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art), was regarded as David Hamilton’s architectural masterpiece dating from 1778
Intersection of Buchanan Street with St Vincent Place, around 1900
Intersection of Buchanan Street with Argyle Street around 1912
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Buchanan Street
1913
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1998
Urban Morphology
Present day
Queen Street Argyle Street
1842
1807
1778 St Vincent Street
04 SPRINGFIELD COURT Glasgow City Centre Proposal The lanes and courts offer something more intimate than streets. It gives people the opportunity to sit and watch one another within a human scale environment which is possibly one of the best forms of urban experience that can be designed. The proposed project seeks to connect the public into a variety of urban environments by creating: • new overhead entrances • new thoroughfare passageways • new entrance into an arcade shopping centre • greening (naturalised detention of water) • waste management strategy • activation of edge activities (spill out spaces) • lighting (to create late time uses)
public spaces
no vehicular traffic
walkable environment
support businesses + local economy
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Laneway heirarchy major pedestrian route minor pedestrian route vehicle route service route
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Waste management bins and rubbish collection service route blocks / shops
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04 SPRINGFIELD COURT Glasgow City Centre Studio Project 2016 Winner of the RTPI West of Scotland Student Chapter Awards.
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4.7 m 1.0 m Bins placemnet
2.5 m
2.2 m
Walkway
Spill-out cafe
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Walkway
Spill out cafe
Active Frontage
Walkway
Queen St.
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LANE LANE COMPONENTS COMPONENTS
05 LANES TOOLKIT ‘Urban Lanes: A Comprehensive Urban Design Guide’ 1
The document is to be widely considered in the planning/design process as a material consideration such as ‘Designing Places’ and ‘Designing Streets’ Policy Statements for Scotland. It identifies through analysis, international case studies and interviews the core components of what makes successful lanes and creates a guide on how to better equip them. The design guide is based on three densities - L1, L2 and L3.
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1. Perception 1 Perception 2. Infrastructure 2 Infrastructure 3. Greening Techniques 3 Greening Techniques 4. Lane Furniture 4 Lane Furniture 5. Connectivity 5 Connectivity 6. Users 6 Users 7. Lane Uses 7 Lane Uses 8. Event Installations 8 Event Installations
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L1
Urban Core
Communal waste disposal areas for businesses and residents means lanes will see less display of rubbish
Services such as waste management should still be able to access the laneways Art installations such as wall murals are a great initiative to invite users into lanes. This is common among cities such as Melbourne & Toronto
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Lane gradient is important so that runoff reaches drains responsibly and therefore avoids flooding or dead water
Owners of businesses should be encouraged to face out onto the lane and create active frontage providing a service to users
L2
General Urban Area
Balconies provide an important function - ‘eyes on the lanes’, natural surveillance to ground floor activities
Lighting is very important to perception, if the lane is not properly lit at night then it will feel unsafe and attract unwated attention
Permeable pavers can be used instead of asphalt concrete for parking areas within the lane
‘Greening the lanes’ with techniques such as green walls (live walls) can greatly improve air quality within the micro-climate whilst adding character to the lanes
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L3
Green roofs can be employed to help air quality, biodiversity and thermal performance of buildings
Low Density Area
Planting is an important characteristic within lanes providing residents water and take care of them
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Waste refuse area for residents means the lane will have more space for planting and for kids to play
Bioswales can be used as naturalised detention of water to help stormwater management in the area
I am a creative team player with an appetite for solving complex design issues. I have a strong desire to improve the quality of life for people within the local context. My passions encompass urban meaning and the exploratory phase of a project to find the true urban form. Ultimately I am keen to work within the design and planning industry, developing my skill-set in a potentially promising career in urban design.
Thank you
for your time in considering me for a position to work with you
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