Cambridge Architecture Gazette CA70 by Cambridge Association of Architects

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

CAMBRIDGE ARCHITECTURE Cambridge Association of Architects Gazette

AUTUMN/WINTER 2015 CAMBRIDGE ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTS GAZETTE

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WELCOME

CONTENTS _4 NEWS

_6 CAMBRIDGE’S FUTURE

Facing the challenges of our growing city

_7 SETTING A NEW DIRECTION

The vision behind North West Cambridge

_ 10 SPACE TO GROW

Details of the masterplan for the expansion of the Addenbrooke’s site

_ 12 A TO Z

Revealing the spectacular triangulated design of AstraZeneca's new HQ building

_ 14 PUBLIC OPEN SPACE REIMAGINED Two artists respond to the challenge

_ 16 REIMAGINING THE PUBLIC OPEN SPACE Cambridge's much loved parks, revisited

_ 18 HOW TO KEEP YOUR TEAM HAPPY Top tips for creating joy in the workplace

_ 20 GOOD DESIGN MATTERS

Past President RIBA Stephen Hodder on the importance of design and relationships

_ 22 DRAWING ON PUBS

Celebrating the architecture of Cambridge's public houses

_ 24 THE JOY OF COLOUR

Why Cambridge should be more colourful

_ 26 WHAT ARE WE WORKING ON?

A look at some of our members' projects

_ 27 SPONSOR INTERVIEW

This issue, we catch up with Grosvenor’s Ed Skeates and Andrew Sharpe

Cover photo: Addenbrooke’s site multistorey car park by Allies and Morrison with Devereux Architects © Ståle Eriksen

WELCOME

The city of Cambridge is undergoing a development boom unprecedented since the Industrial Revolution. In this edition of Cambridge Architecture, we look at some of the positive changes taking place in and around the city, identifying the successes of recently completed projects, and casting our gaze forwards to future developments. We look at those that will provide exciting new opportunities, and those that perhaps show the greatest architectural promise, with the qualities that make this city great to live in; both in our built environment and the green and open spaces that make Cambridge so special. This issue looks into different aspects of Cambridge’s rapid and successful development: the masterplans of the North West Cambridge development and the Addenbrooke’s site; the new global headquarters for AstraZeneca on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus; and the future of green spaces. To look at how these types of projects are realised, we asked Stephen Hodder, immediate Past President of the RIBA, to discuss the benefits of client relationships, whilst February Philips looks into relationships across the design team.

– The Editors CAMBRIDGE ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTS GAZETTE | 3

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SPONSORS AC Architects Cambridge Ltd AECOM Anthony Cooper Archangel Architects Barber Casanovas Ruffles Limited bb+c architects ltd Bremner Partnership LLP Caroe Architecture CFCI Colen Lumley RIBA Cowper Griffith Architects LLP Dalton Muscat Architects LLP David Adamson Feilden + Mawson Freeland Rees Roberts George Davidson Architect Gleeds Cost Management Ltd Goose Architects Ltd Graham Handley Architects Ltd Grosvenor James Campbell RIBA M Reynolds RIBA Mart Barrass Architect mosescameronwilliams architects N J Twitchett Patrick Lawlor Peter Brett Associates LLP Peter Rawlings Architects Prof I Smith Purcell r h partnership architects ltd Rob Howard MA RIBA Robert Thomson RIBA studio24 architects LLP Verve Architects Wrenbridge

NEWS AND EVENTS

Cambridge Association of Architects Gazette News

UNIVERSITY ARMS REFURBISHMENT COMMENCES

The University Arms major refurbishment continues apace with the demolition of the Regent Street frontage. The £50 million project, designed by John Simpson Architects and executed by contractor RG Carter, is expected to deliver a dramatically improved approach and frontage to Regent Street, as well as an additional 70 bedrooms. Completion is expected in 2017.

CAMBRIDGE ARCHITECTURE GAZETTE Cambridge Architecture Gazette is a review produced by the Cambridge Association of Architects, the local chapter of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The views in this magazine are those of individual contributors (named and unnamed), and not of the Association. ISSN 1361-3375 Any comments or for a copy of magazine, contact editors@cambridgearchitects.org EDITORS David Adams, Tom Foggin, Ze’ev Feigis. ADVERTISEMENT SALES Marie Luise CritchleyWaring (fundraising@cambridgearchitects.org) Published by Bright Publishing. www.bright-publishing.com

THE NORTH WEST CAMBRIDGE DEVELOPMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL OPENS ITS DOORS The University of Cambridge Primary School, the first building to be completed as part of the North West Cambridge Development, accepted its first pupils in September. Designed by Marks Barfield Architects and constructed by Willmott Dixon, it incorporates in and around its eye-catching circular design: renewable energy technology, natural ventilation, and a wild wood, orchard, and vegetable plot. Designed to be zero carbon, the rest of the £11 million building will complete in December 2015, eventually catering for more than 700 pupils.

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NEWS

CAA STUDENT PRIZE 2015 AWARDED

Pavilion project © Paul Eldwin Glade

The CAA have awarded their annual student prize to Paul Eldwin Glade, of St. Johns College Cambridge. The prize of £250 recognises the outstanding quality of Paul's portfolio and will go a small way to assisting his studies in the third year. Well done Paul!

2014 Winner, Best New Neighbourhood: Abode, Gt. Kneighton © Tim Crocker

CAMBRIDGE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION AWARDS 2015 Entries are now being accepted for the Cambridge Design and Construction Awards run jointly by Cambridge City Council, the Cambridge Forum for the Construction Industry and the Cambridge News. Help promote the best work of local architects, clients and contractors by entering the awards – the submission deadline is 31 December 2015. For details, go to www.cambridge.gov.uk/ cambridge-design-and-construction-awards.

RICHARD MURPHY ARCHITECTS ARU YOUNG STREET CAMPUS COMPLETED

Richard Murphy Architects has completed the final phase of development at Anglia Ruskin University’s new Young Street Campus in Cambridge. They complete the practice’s master plan for the 3.5 hectare Young Street campus and include a new home for the Visual Eye Research Unit, facilities for the Sports Science department, and a 200 seat lecture theatre.

UPCOMING EVENTS LOVE CAMBRIDGE

Open discussion celebrating everything that makes Cambridge and Cambridgeshire such great places to live and work. Wednesday 2nd December, 6.30pm. Venue TBC. Please RSVP to riba.caa@gmail.com by Friday 20th November.

ARCHITECTURE: A JOURNEY FROM THEORY TO BUILDING

Seminar, Future Business Centre, Cambridge. 2.00-4.30pm, Thursday 19th November 2015. Contact jayne.ransom@riba.org.

BUILDING PATHOLOGY AND HISTORIC BUILDINGS IN CAMBRIDGE

Old Hall, Girton College, Cambridge. 2-4pm, Thursday 3rd December 2015. Contact jayne.ransom@riba.org.

LOCAL PLAN

SUSPENDED The process of examination of Cambridge City Council’s new Local Plan has been formally suspended until next year due to comments received from the inspectors. The council and the inspectors have been in detailed discussion through the summer and the council have recently written back to the Public Examination Office to confirm that they will submit further work in March 2016. More details can be found on Cambridge City Council’s website. Public consultation is expected from 2nd December 2015 to 25th January 2016, with the Local Plan Examination to resume following the public consultation period.

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CAMBRIDGE’S FUTURE

CAMBRIDGE FUTURE

ARE WE KILLING THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS?

Robin Pellew, Chairman of Cambridge Past, Present & Future considers how we might tackle challenges to the city's future WORDS ROBIN PELLEW

Cambridge is reaping the whirlwind of its own success. A once sleepy university town is being transformed into one of the fastest growing high-tech cities in Europe. This success is driving an ever-increasing demand for space to expand, which in turn is changing the character of the city. We need foresight, intelligence, and creativity if change is to be well managed. What makes Cambridge so successful is not just the scientific spin-off from both its universities, but the ability of its high-tech sector to evolve. Whereas other European cities may dazzle then fade, Cambridge re-invents itself – first computer electronics and software design, then bio-medical, and now clean-tech: Cambridge always seems to catch the crest of the wave.

Other European cities may dazzle then fade, Cambridge re-invents itself But this success is under threat. Lack of land for expansion, unaffordable housing, traffic congestion – collectively these could de-rail Cambridge’s future prosperity. So are we killing the goose that lays the golden eggs? The approach of our local authorities seems to vacillate, depending on their political complexion. The ‘compact city’ was the mantra until the millennium, then the release of substantial chunks of Green Belt for development in the 2006 plan, and now

back to compact with the 2014 draft plans. The additional 35,000 homes for the Greater Cambridge area are to be located first in the sites around the city fringe that have not yet been developed, and then in new satellite settlements beyond the green belt in South Cambs – Cambourne, Northstowe, Bourn Airfield and Waterbeach Barracks. This strategy is largely influenced by the Councils’ desire to protect the green belt and the setting of the city. A noble and, I believe, an essential objective, but it still has to be asked whether in the current context the green belt has outlived its usefulness. Does it continue to play a valuable role in preventing urban sprawl, or is it now an impediment to essential growth? Do we want Cambridge to spread out into an expanding urban metropolis with a sanitised heritage centre? The Councils’ response of creating new settlements outside the green belt raises fundamental sustainability issues that the inspectors are now questioning. Is building a settlement in the middle of the countryside a sustainable form of development? Commercial developers have been arguing that creating more urban extensions in the city fringe is cheaper, quicker, and easier, but how realistic is this? While new settlements will need major investment in new infrastructure, especially public transport, it is pernicious to argue that expansion around the fringe can simply piggyback on existing facilities without overloading the infrastructure. This is what I think should be done to address Cambridge’s growth problems:

1. If Cambridge has one thing in abundance it’s brains. Surely we can mobilise this cerebral resource to encourage fresh, innovative, and exciting new thinking about the future of our city? Cambridge Futures, and more recently the CambridgePPF 2030 Vision, show the way. 2. We need a new approach that addresses the imbalance between the demand by road users and the capacity of the road system. Demand can best be reduced through the provision of a high-quality, public transport alternative, and the way to subsidise such a service is through a congestion charge. What about a new body, Transport for Cambridge, modelled on the London example? 3. A review of the green belt is needed looking not only at its landscape value and its role in protecting the setting of the city, but also its potential contribution to improving the quality of life of local people. Green belt should be the last resort once all brownfield sites and areas suitable for regeneration have been exhausted. 4. Because Cambridge pulls in people from such a wide area, its spatial planning needs to be addressed at a sub-regional scale. Planning authorities have a statutory duty to cooperate but the degree of practical cooperation varies. 2019 will see the creation of a Combined Authority for spatial planning and transport – rather than this awkward hybrid beast, why not go the whole hog and set up a Unitary Authority for Greater Cambridge? We need to face up to the new realities so that Cambridge can keep its lead, but civic, like academic, leadership requires creativity and political courage. Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. For CambridgePPF’s position, please visit www.cambridgeppf.org/planning.

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NORTH WEST CAMBRIDGE

NORTH WEST CAMBRIDGE:

SETTING A NEW DIRECTION The University of Cambridge has commissioned AECOM to design a new district and extension to the city, centred on a mixed academic and urban community. AECOM’s Jonathan Rose explains the vision behind the award-winning masterplan WORDS JONATHAN ROSE

The vision for the North West Cambridge Development is to create a new district as an extension to the city, centred on a mixed academic and urban community. It will be a long-lasting, sustainable place which will offer a high quality of life.

and master developer of the site offers a unique opportunity to engage with the city of Cambridge and its existing communities by phase realisation of the development, and through a unique partnering approach with the local authorities in a long-term relationship.

Addressing the University and city’s future needs As one of the world’s leading research centres, both the University and colleges have a demand for new affordable housing for qualifying key workers and additional graduate housing, which will help to relieve the pressure on the city’s wider housing market. The University also needs to anchor new academic departmental relations with industry partners, by providing space for research companies and organisations. The University’s leading role as landowner

More than a decade in planning The site was proposed for development in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Structure Plan in 2003. Following this the University and the two local planning authorities, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, worked carefully together to satisfy the necessary requirements that allowed the site to be removed from green belt. The 2009 planning inspectors report on the Area Action Plan (AAP) was used to established the strategic planning policy for this site, after which the University developed the

The new parkland to the west was designed in the spirit of a picturesque countrypark, and will accommodate the largest rainwater recycling system in the UK © Oaker, courtesy of University of Cambridge

masterplan for three years. Further to extensive consultations, the masterplan formed the basis of the University’s Outline Planning Permission, which was granted in 2013. Masterplan – and 'The 4 Cs' In consultation with the local authorities, the masterplan synthesises the principles of Connectivity, Community, Character & Climate. Following an early examination of Cambridge, it seeks to bring together identifiable, walkable neighbourhoods, generous public realm and landscapes, clusters of academic and research activities all in close proximity to one another, to create a wellmixed new piece of the city: Connectivity Central to the project’s success and integration is the provision for cycling and walking through the heart of

Phase 1 Market Square is the focus of the local urban centre © Oaker, courtesy of University of Cambridge

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NORTH WEST CAMBRIDGE the development. An extensive pedestrian and cycle network, with public transport prioritisation, will connect the North West Cambridge Development to the wider city and University community. Community The masterplan creates new residential neighbourhoods while ensuring there will be excellent social infrastructure, open spaces and public amenity, a major new urban park and landscape, and the establishment of a community trust to govern these assets. The Western Edge parkland will also provide a natural buffer landscape for community use between the city and motorway. Character By bringing together an outstanding group of architects and landscape architects, the collective determination is to create an authentic, contemporary new district for the city that builds upon the urban qualities and the special character of Cambridge. While the North West Cambridge Development will be a collection of new places and spaces, these will build upon parameters that have worked so well in terms of both urban form and careful choice of materials and details, technology and nature, scale and massing, as well as the attention to the distribution of uses. Climate The scheme is designed with strict environmental performance metrics integrated into the masterplan in response to the highest standards as a minimum. Energy performance requirements are achieved through both a district heating system and on-site renewable energy generation. A site wide sustainable urban drainage network and grey water recycling system are incorporated within the landscape of the Western Edge. Approximately a third of the development site will be open land or green space in order to ensure a balance between ecological reinforcement and newbuilt development. Phase 1 in context From the outset, the North West Cambridge Development will offer all the components of daily life in one place: from learning and work, to culture and leisure; all supporting a very high quality of urban life in a natural context. Phase 1 of the development, which includes the local urban centre, is now well advanced on site. The first phase will help to set the quality of place for the entire development, providing more than 1,100 homes, central community amenities

1 Inspired by Cambridge’s historic urban morphology, the North West Cambridge Development extends the city while keeping defined uses clustered in close proximities ©AECOM, courtesy of University of Cambridge 2 A section of Cambridge today through the Backs, college courts, town centre, parks and a neighbourhood. 3 A section through the North West development at the same scale reveals the distinctive grain, scale, and layering that will be carried out in the new plan ©AECOM, courtesy of University of Cambridge 4 Bird’s-eye view of the masterplan, with phase 1, currently under construction in the centre, and later phases overlaid ©Oaker, courtesy of University of Cambridge

including a University sponsored newly opened primary school, community centre, shops, surgery, a hotel, and primary infrastructure. Ultimately, the North West Cambridge Development will provide up to 1,500 affordable homes for qualifying key worker staff, a further 1,500 private homes, accommodation for 2,000 post-graduates, 100,000m2 of academic and research space, as well as the respective facilities to support them.

The next generation of University-oriented urban community Looking forward, the Development is expected to be completed around 2030. While the masterplan takes shape in the coming years, one of the world's most beautiful urban settings will continue to thrive, with the foundations are firmly set in place for the city to grow sustainably well into the future.

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SPACE TO GROW

Cambridge Biomedical Campus masterplan model © Allies and Morrison

SPACE TO GROW CAMBRIDGE BIOMEDICAL CAMPUS

Addenbrooke’s Hospital is undergoing an expansion, the like of which hasn’t been seen for decades. With this in mind, we asked Allies and Morrison to describe the masterplan they developed in association with Devereux Architects WORDS PAUL APPLETON

Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus The strategic masterplan to develop and extend the Addenbrooke’s Hospital site places it at the heart of the new Cambridge Biomedical Campus – a world-class exemplar for integrated hospital facilities, biomedical research, and education. Completed with Devereux Architects and covering a 70 hectare site, the masterplan brings an urbanism to the Campus rarely seen in healthcare development. Many of the facilities located on the existing Campus, such as the Cambridge University Medical School and Medical Research Council, are very much part of the academic life of the city. However, the current arrangement of the buildings on the site and the organization of

the hospital buildings themselves have little in common with the collegiate structure of the city-centre institutional buildings. The masterplan builds on the aspiration of the 2020 Vision for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus as an international centre of excellence and sets it in the local context of the growing historic city with its reputation for discovery and learning. A hierarchy of streets and open spaces The most important organizational principle in the new masterplan is really one of crossroads. One arm of the crossroads is the Boulevard, a new street connecting Addenbrooke’s access road from the south-west with Long Road to the north. The other arm, the High Street, connects

Hills Road in the east, the current principal entrance to the site with the hospital expansion to the west, and guided busway beyond. This crossing of streets establishes an orientating axis across the Campus. It reinforces the importance of the existing entrance on Hills Road, but establishes a clear relationship with other arrival points, which will have an increasing significance over time. Most importantly the two streets will become a focus for the hospital itself (east-west) and the commercial research facilities (north-south) giving each an individual identity but also a relationship with each other within the Campus as a whole. The representation of the identity of not only the site but also its constituent parts by

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SPACE TO GROW

and Morrison have completed two recent buildings (the Rosie neonatal building and the Addenbrooke's multistorey car park) within this framework, and a third, the site’s Energy Centre, has planning permission.

Rosie Hospital © Fisher Hart

the public spaces and streets, rather than the buildings themselves, is an important characteristic of this masterplan. The buildings will of course affect the character of the spaces, but at a masterplanning level they are subservient to the places they enclose. The masterplan promotes pedestrian activity through a legible hierarchy of streets, squares, and gardens, which will become the underlying pattern of the development ensuring that the ultimate objective of a coherent piece of townscape is achieved. It is almost a truism to say that no hospital is ever completed; this is why, across the Biomedical Campus as a whole, an urban rather than single-building model is appropriate, providing a framework for growth over time. Its strong identity is based on high-quality architecture, public spaces and landscaping within Addenbrooke’s historic context. Allies

The Rosie Hospital Perinatal building The perinatal building – completed with healthcare specialists Devereux Architects in 2012 – is an extension to Addenbrooke’s existing Rosie Hospital and the first building developed within the masterplan framework for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, also developed by the two practices. Two new gardens against the existing building maximize daylight for both the existing and new facilities. Rooms open out onto the gardens, redefining the existing building’s relationship with its landscape. Addenbrooke’s multistorey car park The new nine-storey car park at Addenbrooke's Hospital, winner of an RIBA East Award 2015, is the second building to be completed as part of the spatial masterplan The car park is wrapped in continuous, twisted aluminium ribbons coloured yellow and anodized aluminium, the yellow recalling the summer rapeseed of surrounding fields. The effect is a woven structure providing weather protection while allowing glimpses out to the surrounding countryside.

Addenbrooke's Multistorey car park, winner of a RIBA East Award 2015 © Ståle Eriksen

The hierarchy of streets and spaces proposed at the new Cambridge Biomedical Campus © Allies

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A TO Z OF CAMBRIDGE

A-Z

OF CAMBRIDGE

Aerial perspective of the new Global HQ © Herzog & de Meuron

Leading pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is establishing a new Global Research & Development Centre and Corporate Headquarters on the rapidly growing Cambridge Biomedical Campus to the south of the city. We asked the architects, Herzog & de Meuron, to explain more about the scheme WORDS HERZOG & DE MEURON ARCHITECTS, BASEL

AstraZeneca’s new Global Research & Development (R&D) Centre and Corporate Headquarters in Cambridge is the latest and greatest addition to the rapidly growing Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The new Global R&D Centre’s location reflects AstraZeneca’s ambition to be a key point of exchange and collaboration in the campus BUILDING GROSS AREA: 56,800 sq.m COMPETITION & PROJECT START: 2013 ASTRAZENECA START SITE OCCUPATION: Dec 2016 PLANNED COMPLETION: 2017

community, building on its many existing collaborations with members of the Cambridge life science community including the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK. The architecture supports this drive and makes it visible with a porous building accessible on three sides. The site will bring AstraZeneca scientists together with those from its global biologics R&D arm, MedImmune, working side-by-side under one roof. The plans for the first phase of the new campus include designs for the Global R&D Centre and Corporate Headquarters, an R&D Enabling Building, and an Energy Centre. The new building for AstraZeneca’s Global R&D Centre and Corporate Headquarters is is a triangular glass disc with rounded edges, a shape that loosely follows the shape of the

site. It is defined by a sawtooth roof that runs east to west to provide optimal light inside the building. The sawtooth roof carries on through to the façade, creating a tighter and larger zigzag line along the façade. The hovering glass disc with sawtooth roof and stepped façade gives the building its characteristic appearance. The disc sits on six rectangular glass boxes grouped in three pairs. They form an open courtyard, a traditional typology element of the Cambridge colleges. In combination with the low-rise building structure, the design is referencing the historical colleges in central Cambridge. The courtyard is the central point of the site, a meeting point, publicly accessible from three different sides. The rectangular glass boxes run vertically through all floors and house the main

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programmatic element of the building, the laboratories, allowing multiple science groups to work alongside each other. The glazed perimeters of the above ground blocks promote maximum transparency across the floor and through the building, making science visible for all staff and visitors. The office space is an open plan layout and along with traditional desk and office space, the building will offer staff a range of alternative workplace settings from private study spaces and quiet booths to informal collaboration spaces. In contrast to the traditional idea of fixed individual desks, the basic unit of the desk-based workspaces is the ‘island desk’, wherein multiple users share single, large tables laid out as a series of islands within the open plan area. Along the ‘rings’ – the main circulation spaces around the courtyard on the upper floors – there are additional complementary zones providing a range of diverse spaces and arrangements for exchange and informal meetings. All the amenities – conference centre, auditorium, café, and restaurant – are concentrated on the ground floor with direct access from the main entrance to make them equally accessible for the entire building. The materials diversity is kept to a minimum to make the distinction between the different areas very simple and clear. The floor materials reflect the functional organisation of the

The courtyard typology, common to Cambridge © Herzog & de Meuron

building: natural stone for the entrances; rough sawn, solid oak for main stairs and ring area; and carpet for the offices and write-up floors. The floor in the laboratories has continuous white vinyl finish. The main partitions are made out of glass, running floor to ceiling, allowing transparency and seamless transitions between the diverse areas. The other material of choice is exposed concrete, revealing the construction method and structural function while complementing glass and wood.

The internal collaboration spaces are a key feature © Herzog & de Meuron

Typical floor plan showing laboratory and office space © Herzog & de Meuron

The functional diversity and the low rise of AstraZeneca’s Global R&D Centre allow each floor to be specific and different from each other. The underground will contain support facilities, loading area, and plant zone; the street level is open and porous with both amenities and science on display in the laboratories; the first floor is connected through the ring area and the second floor is top lit through the skylight of the sawtooth roof. Despite the distinct work environments of the floors, the building appears as one characteristic structure serving as the pivotal point for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

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CAMBRIDGE FUTURE PARKER’S PIECE: A SOCIAL VENUE Sports and recreation is one of Cambridge’s strengths, yet although thousands of cyclists traverse the city daily, where is there a dedicated venue to celebrate the city’s uniqueness? In which other city would an elevated velodrome feel more at home on the skyline? The centrality of Parker’s Piece and its proximity to existing sports facilities make it an ideal location for communal activities. Along with pop-up shelters offering places to rest and social meeting spaces, this constellation of venues could double up as stalls during the city’s many fairs and restore Cambridge’s identity as a diverse and welcoming place.

PUBLIC OPEN SPACE

JESUS GREEN: THE NEW AGORA The Greek Agora was a place for public gathering and a centre for the athletic, artistic, spiritual and political life of the city. This was where classic philosophers inspired the next generations, poets read their verses out loud and memorials dedicated to noble deeds stood. Cambridge prides itself on being an inclusive intellectual centre, but rather than convening in private courtyards or behind closed doors, can we imagine academic life taking place out in the open? CAMBRIDGE ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTS GAZETTE | 15

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REIMAGINING THE PUBLIC OPEN SPACE

REIMAGINING THE PUBLIC OPEN SPACE Ze’ev Emmerich revisits Cambridge’s much loved public open spaces and offers new perspectives for their future success in an evolving urban reality WORDS ZE'EV EMMERICH

Cambridge has been blessed with a wealth of accessible public parks, commons, and green spaces, which provide a quality not easily found in every city. These open spaces are used for different purposes, ranging from large organised social gatherings to spontaneous individual activities. Seasonal fairs and festivals, children on swings, joggers, rowers, social get-togethers of teens or students lying on the grass undoubtedly add a sense of vibrancy to the city life, its inhabitants and visitors. We could, however, try to imagine what can be further done with these spaces so that their potential will be realised more fully. The local plan defines the open space under several standards: Indoor and outdoor sports, children’s play area, informal open space (such as parks and nature reserves), and

An urban environment is characterised by its multiple and complex uses over time, and while the open spaces may be imagined as a repose from the hustle and bustle of the city, it would be a mistake to think of them as an extrinsic part. Unlike rural or wild natural landscapes, in urban settings, open spaces host a variety of activities that correspond inseparably to the other aspects of city life. By suggesting careful interventions through simple spatial means we could examine Cambridge’s open spaces and propose potential enhanced uses which may enrich already existing activities and might further create new opportunities for a growing metropolis, enabling more complex, nuanced and layered use of these unique public domains.

Create new opportunities for a growing metropolis, enabling more complex use of public domains

1. Re-orientation of existing settings The proximity of already existing commercial enterprises to the open space is restricted at the moment to its own boundaries. Thus, for example, if we allow the pubs and restaurants along the south-east side of Parker’s Piece to open onto Regent Terrace, perhaps even allowing them to offer their service on its boundary, it may help to create a lively, continuous promenade, which can utilise the existing service road and enliven the green even after the cricketers and Frisbee throwers are gone.

allotments. When thinking about open fields or playgrounds, the immediate impression is of carefree fun and playful spaces, while in fact their use is limited by simple factors: lack of lighting, the weather, and on some occasions, fears about safety deter certain parts of the population from fully enjoying the space.

Public Protected Open Space Private Protected Open Space District Boundary

Regent Terrace is currently occupied by a service road and parking along the east side of Parker’s Piece © Ze’ev Feigis

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REIMAGINING THE PUBLIC OPEN SPACE

The Cambridge Museum of Technology forecourt is located on an important junction of public open spaces and fairways © Ze’ev Feigis

Based on Cambridge City Council’s Open Space and Recreation Strategy (October 2011), Appendix 4: Indicative Map of Protected Open Space & Proposed Open Spaces in the Urban Extensions © Ze’ev Feigis

KEY FACTS CAMBRIDGE TOTAL AREA: 11,560 hectares OPEN SPACE: 745 hectares (out of which 285 hectares or 38% is accessible to the public) POPULATION: 120,000 ACCESSIBLE SPACE PER PERSON: 23.75m2

2. Identifying junctions “The banks emerge as banks only as the bridge crosses the stream… the bridge gathers…” Heidegger, Building, Dwelling, Thinking. Cambridge is blessed with opportunities to celebrate crossovers and potential meeting points. Take, for instance, the forecourt of the Cambridge Museum of Technology. Overlooking the riverbank and nature reserve on the opposite side, this landmark building is located next to the Riverside Bridge near three of the largest public open spaces – Midsummer Common, leading towards Stourbridge Common and Ditton Meadows. Even a simple terrace along the front lawn could provide a great viewing point for the rowing, a stretching stop for the runners along the river or just a well-recognised meeting point. A subtle intervention can change what is now a loved yet isolated edifice into one which corresponds, opens up, even celebrates the complex activities around it. 3. Lighting – interlinking strings Walking at night alone through the fields on the way back home could be a rather jittery experience. The use of open spaces after sunset can be doubled by illuminating already existing routes through the dark parks. The barely visible footpath leading from Newnham to town through Coe Fen on a winter’s evening, for example, could be dimly lit without

disturbing the natural life. An illuminated bandstand or a rain-protecting gazebo in the middle of Jesus Green could act both as a point for orientation and gathering, and start weaving a new network of night-time connections, which today exist as dark spots on the city’s mental map. As Cambridge grows it also faces new challenges, for example in the case of recent concerns regarding the status of its green belt. There is, however, space within the city’s already existing urban fabric to conceive ways to evolve, while retaining the original qualities for which Cambridge is cherished. Perhaps through re-imagining already-existing public places and the kind of activities they host, we can provoke positive and creative approaches to the future of our city and the shape of society we wish to foster.

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JOY IN THE DESIGN TEAM

HOW TO KEEP YOUR TEAM February Phillips of 5th Studio offers her advice on improving project team relationships to help find some ‘joy’ in day-to-day work WORDS FEBRUARY PHILLIPS

Architect's Dream ©Adam Larkum

You might imagine that being an architect is a career bringing great joy to those engaged in it. After all, architects are engaged in the process of taking a client’s ambitions and helping them become reality. This seems like a joyous enterprise, but sometimes architects forget this, and the process can feel anything but joyous. At almost every construction event I have attended in the last few years somebody has mentioned the positive impact of being more collaborative, ie. working with others rather

than against them. Maybe a more collaborative approach to our work could make the process of building more enjoyable? Whilst there are empty pleasures in winning an argument (according to some people), the momentary sense of achievement in getting ‘one up’ on somebody hardly gives a feeling of lasting pleasure and happiness. So how can the construction industry start to be more collaborative, and find some joy in our everyday working lives?

There are numerous articles and papers about contractual methods to encourage collaboration, this isn’t one of them. This is about how we can change the way we work through more positive human interactions. I’m not an expert in interpersonal relationships, and I’m not trained in any professional capacity at all in this area, but here are some simple tips that I use to make my working relationships in the construction industry more enjoyable.

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HOW TO KEEP YOUR TEAM HAPPY

2. DON’T BE This really makes a difference. Smiling makes people want to approach you and work with you. With one recent project, I would leave the office worrying about an incomplete drawing package, an unpaid invoice, whether I’d left my laundry out and it was raining – none of these were the problems of the people I was going to see. They had their own problems and needed my assistance to overcome them. Every day I would make sure that when I arrived I un-furrowed my brow, dropped my tense shoulders, and put a smile on my face. It gets a positive response.

You’re probably thinking, ‘quite frankly, I’m finding this whole article patronising’. Well, sweetheart, my dear, I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to you about how you find enjoyment in your job. If I had, I would be able to open up a conversation, and this article would be very different. Architects and other professionals are taught to explain things in great detail and whilst this is sometimes necessary, occasionally the person you’re talking to you knows more than you might think – see point 3.

QUESTIONS Somebody might have an idea that could help, they might know more than you (especially if they’ve been doing something for 40 years). Asking questions allows you to work out why your message isn’t getting through and puts the discussion in context. Asking people what they think also lets them know you value their opinion, so they’ll enjoy working with you.

5. ASK PEOPLE HOW THEY ARE, Sometimes people look stressed and unhappy. A quick chat and an offer to help with their problem shows you’re working with them, not against them. Offering a bit of support and showing that you care about somebody else’s problems can take as little as five minutes out of your day, the same time as a comfort break or making a cup of tea, but could make a big difference to them.

BUT DON’T POSTURE

Folded arms, head down, pursed lips – we’ve all been there. Defensive body language means people will be reluctant to approach you. Equally, puffed out chest, standing too close, and using your physical presence to be overbearing is asking for an adversarial response. Try putting people at ease and give them the message that you are open to discussion and teamwork, just from the way you are standing or sitting.

… don’t take any extra time, and don’t cost money, so don’t need a contractual arrangement or fee negotiation. Everybody does them consciously or subconsciously to some extent. If more people in the construction industry thought about having more positive human interactions with each other, we could be more collaborative (irrespective of our contractual arrangements), projects could run more smoothly, and the process of what we do – not just the product – could include some moments of joy.

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GOOD DESIGN MATTERS

Stephen Hodder with TV presenter and writer Tom Dyckhoff (right) at the launch of Client & Architect – developing the essential relationship

GOOD DESIGN MATTERS Stephen Hodder MBE, RIBA Immediate Past President, discusses the essential client-architect relationship WORDS STEPHEN HODDER

We all know it when we see it. Good design – from the prettiest detail to the slickest masterplan – not only functions well over time and supports the user, it also looks attractive and evokes joy. At its best, its beauty takes our breath away. It is the reason why architects get out of bed in the morning. This is not just a self-indulgence. It also makes hard-nosed business sense. When the design works, its users and local community benefit, which in turn massively benefits the project’s clients, investors, and other financial stakeholders. It is a virtuous upward spiral of transformational value. Given this picture, you’d be forgiven for thinking that all was rosy for architects, and in

a sense it is. We have consigned the bruising 2007 credit crunch to history. Workloads are improving. International opportunities abound. The future is bright. However, the ground has shifted in multiple directions. Fundamental environmental, demographic, and technological forces are reshaping our society and economy in complex ways. And in the field of construction, new technologies and approaches to procurement are dislodging traditional hierarchies. This shift gives us a glimpse of untold opportunity. Trained in creative problemsolving, doggedly committed to the design vision, and skilled at developing the brief,

Stephen Hodder (centre) at the RIBA round-table meeting 21st May 2015

The output of architects ignites excitement for clients at every step of the way

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GOOD DESIGN MATTERS

FIVE (VALIDATED) KEYS TO SUCCESS WITH CLIENTS: 1. Championing the vision 2. Listening and understanding 3. Engaging with people 4. Delivering technical talent 5. Learning and improving

architects are supremely equipped to meet the challenges head on. Who better to solve these complexities than architects? The detailed answer is to be found in the pages of a special report, Client & Architect – developing the essential relationship, the culmination of two years’ strategic investigation by the RIBA’s permanent Client Liaison Group into what clients want from architects. This research, which summarises findings from 15 sector-specific roundtable meetings with clients, acknowledges not only the value of good design but that delivering it is architects’ particular forte. From the initial spark of inspiration, to winning planning permission and thereafter delivering the vision to completion, the output of architects ignites excitement for clients at every step of the way. This is unquestioned. However, the report makes it overwhelmingly clear that these virtues are not enough. Clients are more than ever focused on cost, programme,

efficiency, waste, and risk. In this context, the promises architects make must be convincingly quality assured to settle nerves in the face of what can be huge financial gambles. Many clients have invested further in BIM, and are taking an interest in more modern methods of construction, lean management, and learnt supply chain lessons from other industries. Inevitably, this has introduced deeper sophistication, requiring new skills and a jostling to understand who does what in the project team. This is today’s paradigm. Many architects have already adapted. The rest must follow suit. With good design taken as read, we distilled five validated keys to success with clients based on the round-table discussions: championing the vision; listening and understanding; engaging with people; delivering technical talent; and learning and improving. Deeply cross-cut by other factors – the critical need for business savvy, for example – we took ten practical lessons from the research. Tailored to your own particular circumstances,

harnessing them strategically should pave the way to professional success. Wherever possible, my report highlights sector-specific opportunities, backing up the whole with thoughtprovoking ‘other voices’, not least from Sir Stuart Lipton, Paul Morrell and my inspiration for this initiative, Past President Frank Duffy. Good design is the chief ingredient of worth in construction, both to the bottom line and to shared moral values of culture, beauty, and civilisation. Difficult to quantify, it is nonetheless our stock in trade, and following the advice in my report will keep it firmly in the client’s costbenefit analysis. More importantly, it will help the profession to meet the challenges ahead. To download a copy of the Client & Architect report for free, see www.architecture.com/RIBA/ Professionalsupport/RIBAforclients

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CAMBRIDGE PUBS

WORDS AND IMAGES JON HARRIS

THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) pub: The Devonshire Arms plum-red and cream, tucked into Devonshire Road. Maybe by Richard Reynolds Rowe, architect of the Cambridge Corn Exchange (?)

"The public house is more than just a retail business. It plays an important role at the heart of many local communities, providing a hub through which social networks can be maintained and extended. • Pubs promote community cohesion by facilitating interactions between people from different backgrounds at the local level. • They are culturally important institutions and are considered to offer certain things that are becoming rare in a society being shaped by global commercial pressures." Extract from Cambridge City Council Interim Planning Policy Guidance on The Protection of Public Houses in the City of Cambridge.

DRAWING ON PUBS Cambridge has an impressive architecture to spare, but beside its quads and cloisters, an important part of the daily Cambridge life resides in the public house, an integral place in the social fabric of the city. We asked renowned artist and illustrator Jon Harris to undertake the daunting task of visiting his favourite pubs in Cambridge and sketching them for us. With a heavy heart and great reluctance… he agreed

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CAMBRIDGE PUBS

THE EAGLE The Eagle at dusk - Cambridge's star courtyard inn, and Bury St Edmunds brewers Greene King's flagship pub. Famous not just for Watson and Crick’s DNA announcement, but for Rupert Sheldrake and Tim Hunt living up in those gallery rooms.

THE CASTLE INN A fine hulk of a building with a ’privileged’ paved garden in the shelter of the castle mound. It's Adnam's flagship pub in Cambridge with admirable bar food.

THE ROYAL STANDARD A lost Cambridge pub brought back to life: within a 'shell' of new student rooms, the Royal Standard flies once again over Mill Road.

FORT ST GEORGE The Fort from the 'landward' side, with willows, flagpole, dog, and well-secured bikes. The old name Fort St George acknowledged its licensing status. On its island in the Cam, served by Ferry Path and Dant's Ferry, it wasn't subject to the Cambridge Justices. Cambridge's busiest ’crossroads’ pub, yet remaining a purely East Anglian idyll.

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THE JOY OF COLOUR

THE JOY OF

COLOUR

The colours of the architecture around us are often overlooked as a source of enjoyment or inspiration. We asked Dr Alex Reid, architect and former Director General of the RIBA, to talk about his passion for colour in architecture, how attitudes are changing, and the ways in which we can improve the built environment ourselves WORDS DR ALEX REID, RIBA

Look around you in Cambridge, and you will see thousands of buildings, old and new, which have their façades rendered and painted. Look again and you will see that 95% of these are painted in the blandest possible colours. It’s

Colour is something that we should celebrate and enjoy

probably much the same in any town in the UK. Why is this? After all, nature and science has gifted us a rich spectrum of paint colours. I think the answer is that British society, unlike many in Africa or Asia or around the Mediterranean, is dreadfully repressed when it comes to colour. Perhaps we suffer from a northern reserve, or a continuing streak of Cromwellian Puritanism. The Puritans banished bright colours from clothes and buildings, feeling that colour signified frivolity, or even debauchery, and would lead us into sin. But what is frivolous or debauched about the

blue sky, the green grass, or the golden sunset? Colour is something that we should celebrate and enjoy, in the same way that we enjoy music and poetry. Colour is not expensive. Colourful paint costs no more than white paint. Indeed it costs less in the long run, because it will weather better and need repainting less often. Colour lifts the spirits. Who can resist the colourful beach huts at Southwold, or the colourful boats in any fishing port? Colour is democratic. Each homeowner can make their own choice of colour, without

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Colour gives identity – to cities, to neighbourhoods, and to individual houses

planning permission, and without professional advice. And council or housing association tenants could be given a choice of colours (perhaps from a limited palette) when external painting comes around. Finally, colour gives identity – to cities, to neighbourhoods, and to individual homes. A terrace might have 40 houses on a typical Cambridge council estate road, all painted an identical cream and the result is dull and impersonal. Imagine now that each of the 40 houses is painted in a different colour, like some streets in Brighton and Notting Hill, and imagine then that you have chosen the colour for your own house. Suddenly you are an individual, not a number. You can say to visitors: We live at No.19. It’s the blue house. There is already a bolder approach to colour in some of the new buildings in Cambridge. Congratulations to Warren Close flats near

the station, with their blue and green sliding balcony louvres. Congratulations too to Kaleidoscope housing, also near the station, with its splashes of brilliant colour; and congratulations to the new Maxwell Centre on the West Cambridge Site, with its vertical panels in the colours of the spectrum. Let’s keep this up for our new buildings, and let’s also bring some colour into our existing council estates, such as Campkin Road, when they are due for external repainting. Already in Campkin Road there is a good example of bringing an existing building to life with colour. The makeover project at The Grove Primary School, Campkin Road, was carried out by a mixed team of volunteers and professionals over two days during 2009, with free paint provided by manufacturer, Dulux. The project is described at www. colourfulcambridge.com, along with examples of buildings around the world that express the joy of colour. I would urge that we set ourselves the ambition of making Cambridge the most colourful city in the country. We have a unique historic core to the city, but much of Cambridge, built in the 19th and 20th centuries, is frankly ordinary. With bolder use of colour those parts of Cambridge could become special.

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WHAT ARE WE WORKING ON?

HAYSOM WARD MILLER ARCHITECTS Work is nearing completion on this new contemporary house near the sea on the North Norfolk coast. The free compositional style allows the house to make the most of its setting with views into an intimate garden on the west, and to the sea and fields to the north and east. The two-storey corner window (pictured) lights the stairwell, and the openable cedar ‘stave’ panels create privacy whilst admitting wonderful striated patterns of light, tracking the sun’s path around the house during the day. At night the effect is reversed as this striped lantern welcomes the visitors with a warm light.

ASHWORTH PARKES ARCHITECTS In a small Northamptonshire village, we have recently completed a collection of new agricultural style buildings located at the threshold between the formal garden of the main house and a meadow beyond. The brief asked for an annexe building with catering facilities and a shower room, where our clients might ‘go away’ for the weekend, a garden storage building with room for an office at one end, a carport, and a greenhouse. By using a palette of unadorned materials such as local coursed limestone, sawn larch timber, corrugated aluminium and corten, we have created a relaxed informality between the buildings, as if they have colonised the site over a long period of time.

DPA ARCHITECTS

The scheme is located at the former Romsey Labour Club along Mill Road, a highly recognisable and distinguishable building in Cambridge. Our proposal for the site includes a new nursery and student accommodation consisting of 40 self-contained rooms with the retention of the existing Building of Local Interest (BLI) frontage. A limited palette of materials has been carefully selected to be sympathetic whilst enhancing the local vernacular. A multi dark red brickwork with off-white mortar is proposed as the primary material, with powder coated composite window frames, doors set back into their reveals with perforated metal and brick recessed side panels. Pre-patinated standing seam cladding above the BLI will contrast with the historic plinth, adding interest and providing additional articulation. Large windows will offer an element of lightness and transparency into active areas of the building.

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SPONSOR INTERVIEW

This month we speak with Grosvenor’s Ed Skeates (Director, Place Making) and Andrew Sharpe (Director of Project Management, Place Making) What is Grosvenor’s relationship to Cambridge? ES: We have a city-focused approach and like our work to play a part in a city’s long-term success; other examples are London, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. We are interested in what makes them tick. AS: Grosvenor has been investing in Cambridge for more than 30 years and is absolutely committed to Cambridge. We developed the Grafton Centre, Grand Arcade, Trumpington Meadows, and Parkside Place, which included a new fire station.

Our strategy is to play a part in enhancing the communities where we have projects What recent, current, or upcoming projects are you most proud of or excited about? AS: Trumpington Meadows is a highquality 1,200 home extension of the southern edge and we are proud to have contributed to Cambridge’s continued growth. The Trumpington Meadows country park recently opened, giving

greater access to the south Cambridgeshire countryside. ES: We are bringing forward new proposals for a Cambridge Community Sporting Trust, to deliver a community stadium in Abbey, a sporting village south of Trumpington Meadows, and 520 new homes. What, in your view, is special about Cambridge? ES: Cambridge has a global reputation, but also a very strong local community. Our strategy is to play a part in enhancing the communities where we have development projects. AS: The architectural character of the city and its historic core is obviously integral to its success. Our experience of developing in the very heart of the city demonstrates our ability to respect and work with Cambridge’s historic fabric.

What is your favourite building or space in the city? ES: There are so many great old buildings, but I really admire the strength of the composition at the Department of Applied Mathematics. AS: It may sound a little uninspiring, but standing on the top level of the Grand Arcade car park you are at the centre of the city, with fantastic views across the skyline. I always said there should be a rooftop café up there.

If you had the power, what would you improve in Cambridge? AS: I think everyone would like to see increased investment in infrastructure, mainly transport infrastructure. The city is lacking in sports facilities that we are of course looking to address. ES: A transport solution that revolutionises public transport into Cambridge through a high quality subsidised service.

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