Living Spaces

ISSUE 1 | 2010

GUERRILLA LIGHTING

OUTDOOR SCREENING

TRANSFORMING URBAN SPACES

NATURAL PLAY

INTERIM USES

TEMPORARY PROJECTS

NIGHTTIME ECONOMY

■ New frameworks for place management

■ Making the best of unused spaces

■ Staging events and entertainment

■ Harnessing technology for new activities

■ Character, identity and presentation

£7.50

PLACE IDENTITY & WAYFINDING

Australia Day – David Simmonds

INSIDE:

OUTDOOR EVENTS

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

MAKING PLACES TO BE PROUD OF

I

n recognition of the shared challenge facing a range of professionals, RUDI, the newly formed Urban Intelligence Network and the Institute of Place Management (IPM) have put together this publication with one key purpose: to remind ourselves that even though things may currently be tough economically, our towns and cities have a bigger role in society than just providing us with a place to shop.

A ‘living place’ exists to meet all sorts of communal needs: a space for culture, heritage, physical exercise, social interconnectivity and links to nature, to name just a few.

So, in this first edition of Living Spaces, we have included articles that both explore the purpose of public space, and look at ways it can be ‘activated’ for civic benefit within vibrant and distinctive local urban areas. Our content focuses upon making the most of existing place assets, models for their effective management, and profiles of innovative ideas for bringing places to life with originality and individuality.

After all, the core belief we share is that places are defined by their character and activity – which in turn gives their citizens pleasure and pride in ‘their’ place.Please get in touch if you would like to be involved in future issues Cathy Parker, Development Director, Institute of Place Management ■

Peter Stonham, Chairman, RUDI and Urban Intelligence Network ■

EDITORIAL Peter Stonham, Editorial Director | E: editor@rudi.net Cathy Parker, IPM, Guest Editor | E: cathy@placemanagement.org

CONTRIBUTORS Juliana O’Rourke | E: juliana@rudi.net Tom Evans | E: tom.evans@rudi.net

PRODUCT MANAGER Carey Baker | T: 0845 270 7898 | E: carey@rudi.net

PUBLISHER RUDI | ISBN: 978-1-899650-60-6

REGISTERED OFFICE Apollo House, 359 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5QY Registration Number: 768 3671 83 | T: 0845 270 7898 Individual copies: £7.50 | T: 0845 270 7898 | E: info@rudi.net

SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING Matthew Knight | T: 0845 270 7969 E: matthew.knight@landor.co.uk

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Natalie Clarke | E: production@landor.co.uk

CONTENTS 4 Why spaces must be living places

What constitutes the essence of place and how can the skills of professionals combine to create and manage places that engage and delight those who live, work in or visit them

6 Managing activities, harnessing opportunities

There is a range of interventions that can enhance and animate urban spaces and places, look at the response of urban areas to recent challenges and new initiatives that aim to re-energise them

9 Places in transition

Juliana O’Rourke looks at ways to address under used, neglected and transitory urban spaces and an initiative aimed at re-animating empty buildings

12 A positive investment in place

Derby’s Cathedral Green, a once underused green space in a run down urban landscape has been transformed into a lively waterfront venue

14 The time for creativity

In times of recession, unlocking the involvement of artists and other creative people can help bring places to life and make more of available resources

16 Giving places an identity check

A key element in achieving distinctiveness and engagement with individual areas is to give them a clear sense of identity and to help in the interpretation and understanding of all of that is around

18 A space filled with possibilities

Melbourne’s ‘Fed Square’ is the city’s meeting place at the core of it’s cultural life offering everything from permanent exhibitions and outdoor screenings to informal places to meet, eat and drink

22 Defining a new place

The Liverpool One major new retail and commercial space has been designed to create a dynamic and flexible environment that supports a lively range of activity

24 A model for making better places?

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) offer existing urban areas the opportunity for better place management and economic vibrancy in the face of increased pressure from newer purpose built developments

26 Let there be light – in a new way!

Making the best of the night-time environment for both aesthetic and economic and social reasons is a challenge for those seeking to improve urban areas

28 Natural play: adventures in landscape

A community adventure playground set within a historic park is providing a space for spontaneous natural play in a contemporary, exciting and imaginative space in Plymouth

32 More power to outdoor events

Attracting people to use public and commercial private spaces requires a sensitive approach to the supply of necessary power

35 All the world’s a screen…

Moving images have escaped from the cinema and the living room to become a regular feature in the public realm.What are the issues of planning, management and programming behind the screening of films and projections in street life

38 The sonic essence of place

There is a great new opportunity provided by technology to bring urban spaces to life by sound, art and entertainment

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Melbourne International Arts Festival – David Simmonds

Why spaces must be living places

One of the most important defining features of mankind is the significance it gives to specific places. Places give us meaning; they remind us of our past, they anchor us in our present and can inspire different futures, says Professor Cathy Parker, Development Director, IPM

T

he places where we were born, where we move to live, study, work or travel to visit, influence us, define us and can change us. There is a huge literature, spanning sociology, anthropology, psychology and geography underpinning the importance of place. Indeed town and city centres have been at the heart of social, cultural, economic and civic life for over two millennia.

But what is it about ‘place’ that has such meaning? Whilst, in part, the buildings, streets, squares and parks have great significance, it is often as much about activity, events and interactions that creates the ‘specialness’ of somwhere.

The US-based Project for Public Spaces has spent 30 years researching the characteristics of successful places.

It sees these as being accessibility and linkage. You can judge the accessibility of a place by its connections to its surroundings, both visual and physical.

A successful place is easy to get to and get through. Also, comfort and image are important. Whether a space is comfortable and presents itself well is key to its success. Comfort includes perceptions about safety, cleanliness, and the availability of places to sit.

Uses and activities are also key.

Activities are the basic building blocks of a place. Having something to do gives people a reason to come to a

place – and to return. When there is nothing to do, a space will be empty and that generally means that something is wrong. Finally, the project identifies sociability. This is a difficult quality for a place to achieve, but once attained it becomes an unmistakable feature. When people see friends, meet and greet their neighbours, and feel comfortable interacting with strangers, they tend to feel a stronger sense of place or attachment to their community – and to the place that fosters these types of social activities.

Obviously, to make a ‘dysfunctional’ space into a successful place takes a considerable amount of effort.

Nevertheless, the regeneration

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

‘With the current lack of finance and investment so severe that sees even construction projects near completion being at best ‘put on hold’ and at worst abandoned, the answer to making spaces living places lies in making the most of the existing physical assets of a location and ‘energising’ or activating places through smaller scale projects and social interventions’ programmes and other initiatives that have strived to create successful places have often failed purely because they have focused upon improvements to the physical infrastructure and realm (they are accessible and comfortable) but have ignored the activities and sociability elements. In addition, in terms of town and city centre development, the understanding of the uses of place is too focused upon those related to economic gain. The private sector has been embraced wholeheartedly in the redevelopment of our towns and cities. My own city of Manchester has been transformed by large-scale physical regeneration programmes, pre-global financial crisis.

But now, in times of credit crunch, ‘half empty apartment blocks, aborted construction sites, the skeletal remains of once exciting new projects – litter the Mancunian landscape – concrete memorials to the failure of market systems to secure the city’s immediate future’.

The British Retail Consortium reported last summer that one in every eight shops is empty; mainstream TV shows document the problems many centres have with anti-social behaviour, binge drinking and ‘the night-time economy’ and the closure of many local

The Light in Winter – David Simmonds

5

public services such as libraries and doctor’s surgeries means that many of our towns are not the institutions, at the heart of public life, that they once were.

With the current lack of finance and investment so severe that sees even construction projects near completion being at best ‘put on hold’ and at worst abandoned, the answer to making spaces living places lies in making the most of the existing physical assets of a location and ‘energising’ or activating places through smaller scale projects and social interventions. This approach has been embedded in the Department of Communities and Local Government ‘Looking after our Town Centres Scheme’.

Unfortunately, despite our politicians rallying round the institution that is the UK high street, there is very little funding or help on offer for communities to make much of a

difference. Even schemes that have encouraged the use of empty shops for community or cultural usage are often plagued by ‘red-tape’ issues and are chronically under-financed; even small budget initiatives need the right amount of albeit not much money to be successful.

And so, turning to the content of this publication, these themes are explored in more detail. Some principles of good place making are discussed and showcased, we have some practical examples of how towns and cities can ‘do more with less’ and make improvements to the use of spaces and the range of activities that can help animate them and improve the experience of place, without necessarily investing in major regeneration or development programmes. Its a time for smart thinking and unlocking latest potential. ■

WORKING TOGETHER FOR BETTER PLACES

IPM is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.

There is enormous variation in what place managers do and the IPM recognise the variety of subject disciplines that place management draws from and the importance of cross-disciplinary working practices.This publication illustrates the range of activities that can happen in a place and the different disciplines that those working to develop and manage them need to draw from, such as social entrepreneurship; management; marketing; economic development; planning and design; and tourism and leisure.

Linking the worlds of the practitioner, academic and policy maker – as well as students – IPM is establishing an international network of people committed to making neighbourhoods, towns, cities, retail districts or any other places the best they can possibly be.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Managing activities, harnessing opportunities There is a range of interventions that can enhance and animate urban spaces and places, from energizing commercial activity and encouraging new forms of retail to promoting specific events and themed activity in the quest to make places distinctive and engaging.Tom Evans and Peter Stonham look at the response of urban centres to recent challenges

T

he animation and orchestration of economic, social and cultural activity in the public realm requires special skills in bringing together stakeholders and agreeing programmes.

Once upon a time high streets, public squares and other parts of the public environment seemed to almost manage themselves. Traditional activity in a town centre – movement, exchange of goods and diversions, such as street entertainment – just happened. Then came a much more

The traditional high street seemed to buzz with activity and accommodate a range of users with common characteristics and purposes

structured regime of traffic and highway management, purpose designed shopping centres in the town centre, followed by competitive brand new environments created out of town.

The response of the traditional high street over the past few decades has been hesitant and patchy. Some places have risen to the challenge and reinvented themselves, but others seem to have been caught in a spiral of decline leaving a confused, poor quality and unattractive legacy.

A number of those concerned with the future well being of our commercial centres have been addressing this issue and seeking to identify the framework that is most likely to deliver success.

For instance the British Retail Consortium (BRC) report ‘21st Century High Street’ published in 2009 recognises that the high street plays a crucial role at the heart of the community, but warns that they need to evolve as society changes. The

A modern high street faces a range of challenges and must adapt to cater for changing needs and potentially diverse and conflicting uses

report illustrates the additional impacts that the recession has had on high streets and town centres across the UK and observes that in many places it has merely accelerated a trend of decline that was already happening.

Shopping habits have changed significantly over the past 20 years and the high street must now compete against an increasingly diverse range of shopping locations and channels.

Modern lifestyles demand flexibility and convenience and, as the BRC believe, our high streets will need to continue to change to meet consumer demands and could become very different places to those of two or three decades ago.

The BRC publication explores how the re-birth of the high street can be achieved and sets out twenty key recommendations. They come under six core headings and start with ‘creating a unique sense of place’ and an ‘attractive public realm’ and also cover ‘planning for success’, ‘accessibility’, ‘safety and security’ and ‘supportive regulatory and fiscal regimes’.

The Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM), whose approach has a broader agenda than simply retailing and work with all those interested in promoting the vitality and viability of town and city centres, offer the following essential characteristics as being at the heart of every town centre: ● A retailing centre that serves the needs of the local community; ● Leisure, entertainment and cultural facilities; ● Public and private sector services; ● An employment and business sector; ● Accessibility by a choice of transport;

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

7

● The perception of the local community as their town centre.

The ATCM have introduced a range of initiatives aimed at re-invigorating town and city centres and helping them to overcome the impact of the recession. A new toolkit aimed at helping high streets back onto the road to recovery is being developed in partnership with national bodies and a new "gold standard" that recognises great entertainment and hospitality areas at night has also been launched.

Both of these initiatives are detailed in the following pages.

Meanwhile, the practice of ‘place management’ has been taken to another level since the establishment of the Institute of Place Management (IPM). The new international professional body supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better and aims to develop the profession of place management. The IPM has established an international network of people committed to making places the best they can possibly be and links the worlds of the practitioner, academic and policy maker.

The new redesign at Oxford Circus creates a less congested and a more pleasant environment

PHYSICAL DESIGN & PLACE USE Practices and professionals working to develop urban environments recognise the symbiosis between physical design and the way places are used. But it is only recently that multi-disciplinary working practices and projects that create better places for all users have begun to be implemented and accepted as good practice. Things happen when you redesign places and it’s essential that those who create places have in mind the way they are used after they are designed, so that the design facilitates rather than inhibits activities.

The pioneering redesign of Kensington High Street in West London improved the street’s image by removing street clutter, guardrails and bollards and redressed the balance between vehicles and pedestrians to create a more accessible street and welcoming environment. The scheme, which was made possible by the leadership and commitment of a forward thinking Councillor, Daniel Moylan, has established itself as a

landmark urban design project and is often cited as good practice. The reconstruction of Central Manchester following the IRA bombing provides another example of a development that created a more accessible environment for a variety of users.

Here the introduction of an integrated transport system and more pedestrianfriendly places, along with the preservation of distinctive architectural and historic urban fabric, contributed to the reinvigoration of the city.

Meanwhile, an ambitious project to redesign a busy traffic intersection and improve pedestrian access has recently been completed at London’s Oxford Circus, a public space at the heart of the capital. With the aim of improving movement, a team from Atkins, who managed the project, used 3D animation and pedestrian modelling to simulate crossing activity and demonstrate the ways in which the space would be used. The redesign removes roadside barriers and allows pedestrians to cross the road diagonally, creating a less congested

and a more pleasant environment for shoppers and workers.

The success of these projects shows that creative thinking in the redesign of places, along with a focus on users and movement, can bring significant benefits to the image and experience of a place. Because of the very nature of these projects, many relied upon expertise from a range of professionals and adopted an inter-disciplinary working approach.

A leading proponent of interdisciplinary working practices and the design of multi-functioning urban streets is John Dales of Urban Initiatives. He chaired a significant conference on the concept of ‘shared space’ in December 2009, which was organised by Local Transport Today to explore how streets should be shared more effectively between the various users of urban space. Writing on the subject for the same publication he states that “one of the main challenges facing those responsible for the health of streets today is dealing with the negative legacy of the ‘always

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

segregate’ philosophy that dominated UK highway design for around five decades”. As those working to improve urban places will appreciate, Dales says that ‘streets are hugely complex and their design must take that into account. There should be no ‘off the peg’ solutions’. The ‘shared space’ concept is just one approach to the development of our streets as urban places; it has many critics, but is being implemented with some success in a number of locations across the country.

RE-ENERGISING URBAN CENTRES The recession has had many effects on our towns and cities, but none is more evident than the number of empty shops which have become an unwanted scar on the face of most UK high streets. Local authorities and central government have recognised the problem and initiatives such as the Meanwhile project, which is explored in detail on the following pages, have been developed to help re-animate empty and under-used buildings with temporary projects and leases.

As well as empty premises, there are both underused outdoor spaces and other sites where demolition has taken place, and due to the economic situation, unproductive eyesores and magnets for crime have appeared which could be put to much more productive use. Technological developments and creative thinking are both helping in this situation and mean that you can now have a range of events and even introduce new environments to an urban centre.

Interventions with both social activity, agriculture and lighting are also becoming increasingly well established, but frustration with regulations and bureaucracy about ownership and planning considerations have prompted the growth of both guerrilla gardening, and now guerrilla lighting.

The ATCM have just begun working with the Improvement and Development Agency and National Skills Academy for Retail to create a toolkit that helps high streets onto the road to recovery. The partnership have asked for suggestions of tried and tested initiatives that are practical enough for town centres to

Skating comes to town: a temporary ice rink was set up in Hastings shopping centre for the Christmas and New Year period

implement relying only on the help of local partnerships. The most effective 100 initiatives are being compiled into a report ‘tool-kit’ which will be made available to all Town Centre Managers, Economic Development Officers, Regional Development Agencies, Chambers of Commerce, the retail industry and policy makers and will be freely available on-line. The association also hopes the toolkit will ensure that the voices of town centre managers, local government, businesses and community members are all heard nationally.

OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGE It has been a challenge for traditional urban areas to respond to the era of newly designed and controlled environments in out of town shopping centres and retail parks, but if they play to their advantages they may have the

last laugh by offering much more human scale, individual and adventurous environment. Building character and identity from scratch is extremely difficult, and it’s hard to create the pattern of eclectic mix that exists in our town and city centres.

Places that aren’t over managed or policed and are less structured in nature may well see an increase in interest from those people increasingly looking for less controlled environments and a more ‘authentic’ experience.

There are numerous examples and initiatives that those working to improve our towns and cities can learn from and make use of, many of which are detailed in this publication, but individual responses appropriate for a particular situation are the key if the challenge of creating better places relevant for all users is to be realised. ■

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

9

Places in transition

Juliana O’Rourke looks at ways to address under used, neglected and transitory urban spaces and an initiative aimed at re-animating empty buildings

S

THE MEANWHILE INITIATIVE omething is happening on the high street. Empty shops are spreading as the recession bites, spoiling town centres and destroying social and economic value. Not willing to sit tight and let town centres remain blighted by empty properties until a commercial use reappears, forcing landlords to bear the cost of an unproductive asset and causing pedestrians to put up with shuttered facades and lifeless street, the Meanwhile initiative is working to reanimate these spaces with temporary projects. Meanwhile spaces allow local people and community groups to experiment with new projects and enterprises, relieve the burden for landlords of an empty property and support surviving businesses on the high street by stimulating new footfall and users in the town centre.

The Meanwhile initiative, announced in April 2009 as part of the Government’s Town Centres Policy, is supporting local authorities, owners of local properties, and local groups to bring empty town centre buildings into temporary community use. Given the dynamics of downward spirals, the meanwhile approach has to be fastmoving, responsive, flexible, and focused on action. This momentum quickly hits a range of obstacles in the form of leases, rates, insurance, planning, health & safety, and all kinds of compliance.

These are systemic barriers: in many cases ‘the system’ is not designed to facilitate or even allow for ‘meanwhile’

use. The project is finding and developing a range of creative ways to smooth the path for Meanwhile spaces through model leases and agreements, simple rate relief information, a new Meanwhile insurance product, Local Development Orders, and special Meanwhile surveys to assess building condition and compliance.

THE MEANWHILE LEASE The process of developing an enabling model document is not easy because Meanwhile really is something new and different but, of course, must operate within English law. The finalised version of the direct lease between owner and occupier is available online from www.meanwhile.org.uk. An alternative version is also available, covering the situation where an intermediary (a council, a charity or Meanwhile Space CIC) takes on the lease and provides a sub-lease to the occupier. From January 2010, the Government aims to support the use of ‘meanwhile’ leases for landowners and voluntary groups wishing to set up temporary allotments on land awaiting development.

Several places have taken the initiative themselves and got on with innovating and experimenting. The Meanwhile team made a deliberate choice to work with areas where people were already making things happen on the ground, or at least look like they wanted to. Quirk

(2007) identified three key ingredients for successful asset transfer – political will, imaginative officers and community business sense. For Meanwhile spaces to work, co-operative landlords are also needed.

The Meanwhile plan outlines what has been achieved in the initial phase and describes the plans to consolidate and roll out the project over the next 10 months. The outcome will be that over the winter and into next spring and summer, Meanwhile will support more vibrant town centres, supported by a well-connected, ever-expanding, cross sectoral network dedicated to keeping the timber boarding at bay, proactively arresting decline and seeking new futures for town centres.

It is planned that the Meanwhile approach will also move beyond town centres to include deprived estates (especially those identified by Connecting Communities). The Meanwhile Space CIC will be developed as a sustainable delivery organisation that will take on a long-term role in promoting meanwhile use; advising local authorities, owners and occupiers; developing the knowledge base and building networks; taking the risk on intermediate leases; and supporting strategic empty space management.

■ More information: www.meanwhile.org.uk

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

A

LAND IN LIMBO cross our cities lies a land resource, derelict and neglected, frozen between long-term uses: dubbed ‘land in limbo’ by a recent report from Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). According to the National Land Use Database, says CABE, brownfield land in England stood at some 62,000 hectares in 2006, with just over half of that classed as derelict or vacant – the equivalent of 60,000 football pitches.

These mothballed sites could, at relatively low cost, be converted to amenity spaces which contribute to their immediate environment with costs offset against the insurances to shore up buildings or hoardings and security. Temporary uses for such sites are no doubt always considered, (short term leases, parking, storage, studios, etc) but they do not necessarily contribute to upping the game in place-making.

The principle of the interim landscape is not new. Sixteen years ago, landscape architects Whitelaw Turkington created a wildflower meadow and informal kickabout space

Policy makers are beginning to look differently at sustainable land use.At Hannover Kronsberg urban extension, Germany, land is given over to sustainable landscaping and drainage initiatives

At Peninsula Square in North Greenwich, the 5m high green wall is a temporary device which can be dismantled and reused but, in the interim, creates an edge to the square, a habitat for wildlife and contributes to the amelioration of the microclimate, not to mention screening an unsightly car park

In March 2006, an initiative began to open abandoned factories in Ljubliana, Slovenia, for temporary use. One example is the Rog bike factory, owned by the City of Ljubljana, which had been left to decay for 15 years.The current mayor is a supporter of the new uses, including art workshops, an adjacent hostel, cafes and clubs, and has visited the sites several times, say the current residents. Plans to develop the site have been stalled for many years, and it currently provides a popular and welcome inexpensive workspace and cultural outlet for many of the city’s young people

on the banks of the Grand Union Canal for Tower Hamlets HAT, for the same outlay as it would have taken to hoard and secure the site, ensuring that the site was well-used until redevelopment.

Chris Baines, an academic and CABE Space enabler, is an expert on interim uses of temporarily vacant urban open space. Speaking at a RUDI event in March 2009, he suggested that there is ‘finally recognition of the importance of “land in limbo”, and how it could be used for civic benefit.’

There are many examples across Europe and beyond of vacant or underused land and buildings being used to support community cultural centres, city farms and urban agriculture initiatives: grazing animals have been introduced into underused land in Sheffield, for example.

However, says Baines, too few examples of this kind of scheme exist in the UK. Barriers to developing such sites, such as fixed mindsets and fear of risk, need to be overcome, he adds.

Temporary uses such as markets and festivals can be as popular as shortterm proposals, and also serve to enhance communities socially and environmentally.

CABE’s Peter Neal agrees. ‘Not all public spaces have to be there forever,’ he says, ‘but we should seek to make

them as attractive and interesting as possible.’ Several schemes are responding and encouraging functional uses for undeveloped land and land in limbo, such as sustainable urban drainage and the production of nursery stock that could be used for planting the permanent landscapes of surrounding developments.

‘Once you recognise that land in limbo is a resource, an asset rather than a liability, then it’s inexcusable to simply be in denial about it and do nothing about it,’ says Baines. ‘The truth is that most local authorities are in denial about what happens in this landscape. They are culpable if they don’t take it seriously.’

Fears that these interim ‘spaces in waiting’ become so valuable an amenity that communities wish to block future development need to be addressed from the outset with covenants or legal agreements.

Forward-thinking developers stand to gain from creating such developing and interim landscapes – many of which could last for 10-15 years…the lifetime of a child, stresses CABE. Says Baines: ‘The temporariness of this landscape is its strength. It allows you to be brave and innovative because you know it is not going to be a permanent physical white elephant or legacy.’ ■

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

A positive investment in place

Derby’s Cathedral Green, a once underused green space in a rundown urban landscape, has been transformed into a lively waterfront venue.

It’s also been a key for inward investment, says Pranali Parikh

I

The bridge brings people from diverse backgrounds to the river and has made the riverside habitat more accessible.

Once sandwiched between a busy traffic street and a nonaccessible river, the Cathedral Green urban space has transformed the waterfront

n August 2007, the BBC announced: ‘It’s another big day in Derby’s development as work starts on the £3.8m Cathedral Green, creating a modern new footbridge as well as seating and space for outside events.’

Two years later, Derby is proud to see the swing bridge nominated for the Prime Minister’s award for Better Public Building.

Derby City Council and its partners understand the importance of green lungs within dense urban areas, and the key role that green spaces play in creating sustainable communities.

Cathedral Green was identified in the Derby Cityscape Masterplan and Public Realm Strategy as a major open space within Derby city centre.

The masterplan recommends residential-led development on the sites surrounding the green, with some active commercial use on the ground level. The open space is seen as a driver for the delivery of approximately 920 new residential dwellings on ten sites within 450 metres of the Cathedral Green. The enhancement of this valuable green open space was conceived as part of the sustainable regeneration of the city centre.

Wilson Bowden, one of the most active property development companies in the region, has prepared plans for what will be one of the city’s highest profile residential-led mixed-use schemes immediately adjoining Cathedral Green. They are currently revisiting plans to meet demands imposed by the economic climate.

The concept for the design is drawn from the local textiles industry for which Derby is world renowned, an industry that in turn owes its success to the fast-flowing waters of the River Derwent. The basic bridge form is derived from a tailor’s shears or scissors, in particular the action of the hinged blades as they open and close.

When in its closed position, in times of high flow or floodwater, the bridge is in use along a north-south axis – the Riverside walk running alongside the Mill and southwards toward Exeter Bridge. The bridge serves as both a pedestrian link and a cycleway, but has also been designed as a place to meet and greet: a destination in its own right.

The introduction of seating within the body of the bridge encourages people to linger and take in views of the Cathedral, Silk Mill, the river and the surrounding areas.

Emphasising that good design and public space management adds value in real terms, the local authority has recorded the total number of visitors to the Silk Mill Museum as increasing by more than 50 per cent, from 13,780 between April and August 2008 to 21,223 in the same period of 2009, since the new space opened. This significant result underlines the role that well designed public space can play in enhancing the setting of major public buildings. It also proves that investing in quality public place brings increased footfall leading to positive financial returns, as well as raising awareness of important local heritage.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

13

Cathedral Green provides a focal point, a viewing platform and a meeting place from which to appreciate the three gems of Derby – Derby Cathedral, the River Derwent and the Silk Mill.The bridge design reflects Derby’s history of being at the forefront of industry and radical engineering. Its dynamic movement creates a spectacle when in operation.

The total project cost of £4.2 million was financed by £3.8 million from Growth Point funding, £100,000 from Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership (DDEP) and the rest from Derby City Council

The Bridge design came about through an open design competition.

Three innovative entries were considered by a joint team of Derby City Council and Derby Cityscape officers with representatives from Opun (Regional design review panel, Regeneration East Midlands). A team led by Rambolls was selected to execute their final design.

CREATING A DISTINCTIVE PLACE It is not only the sun that brings out the best in this popular new place. The rain emphasises the subtleties of the design: the lost arm of the river that extended round the Silk Mill island is reinterpreted in an artwork by Nayan Kulkarni. A collaboration between artist and designers, the artwork is an interpretation into landscape of the Mill Race, a waterway that once ran through the site and powered the Silk Mill.

The themes of water, movement, light and energy are explored within a ground surface marked by dark grey granite, interspersed with sparkling pofyrey stones. This element provides a contrast in colour and texture to the surrounding york stone and incorporates lighting and a mosaic of paving features. Not only does it shimmer with water, the underground lights accentuate the ripple effect of water cast in stone. After dark, the special effect of underground lighting adds a distinctive touch that adds greatly to visitors’ experience of place.

Cathedral Green provides a focal point, a viewing platform and a meeting

place from which to appreciate the three gems of Derby – Derby Cathedral, the River Derwent and the Silk Mill.

Evoking the rich textiles heritage of the area, the bridge and Cathedral Green together enhance the setting of the Silk Mill – part of the UNESCO Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

The bridge is used all day by a wide range of the public, from young people on skateboards to elderly couples resting on benches. The success of Cathedral Green as a place for people lies in the welcome that the public of Derby have shown it, quickly adopting the new space and making it their own.

Being a key public place and a major area of city centre green space, it has attracted a high profile, and the consistent flow of people throughout the day has increased natural surveillance in the area, with positive effects for reducing vandalism and antisocial behaviour.

The new green has highlighted one of Derby’s previously forgotten assets, the River Derwent that flows through the heart of the city centre. Be it the birdwatchers viewing peregrine falcons nesting on the Cathedral tower, children chasing ducklings on the riverbanks, or the elderly feeding the fish in the river, the bridge brings people from diverse backgrounds to the river and has made the riverside more accessible. It is an oasis of green in the city, an urban open space that caters to all.

■ Pranali Parikh is the urban design manager with Derby Cityscape

‘The bridge serves as both a pedestrian link and a cycleway, but has been designed as a place to meet and greet: a destination in its own right’

An artwork by Nayan Kulkarni, a collaboration between artist and designers, incorporates lighting and a mosaic of paving features. Underground lights accentuate the ripple effect of water cast in stone. After dark, the special effect of underground lighting adds a distinctive touch that adds greatly to visitors’ experience of place

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

“Every £1 of public money invested in the arts levers in a further £2 from elsewhere, creates jobs and contributes significantly to the fastest growing sector of our national economy … culture is important for any government which places quality of life for its citizens at the heart of its agenda” Arts Council England Chief Executive Alan Davey

The time for creativity

In times of recession when life goes on hold, it’s actually a time to plan, step back and re-think how we embed cultural involvement in place and apply ‘total place’ thinking, says Maggie Bolt

T

raditionally, when the going gets tough – creativity gets dumped!

Whenever expenditure gets tight, quality of design and materials, along with landscaping and public art, have frequently been lost as costly extras.

But it’s actually a time to plan, step back and re-think how we embed cultural involvement and apply ‘total place’ thinking within development.

Such thinking needs to embrace public space, the environment and sustainability issues. It must also ensure that places and spaces are welcoming, encouraging users to interact and engage with each other and their environment. Hard times encourage us, through necessity, to eschew pressure to seek new and shiny goods and experiences, and to step off the never-ending retail treadmill and to re-connect with home-made, local and non-retail pleasures. People seek meaning: we cease being just customers and remember we are also citizens.

Contemporary craft and innovative community engagement projects are well placed to celebrate this innovative thinking, and should be a key element of the place makers’ skillset.

A new emphasis on the importance

of sustaining cultural activity and working creatively to keep communities together has re-emerged in the US through Obama’s presidency. Our Government is also attempting to flag up the importance of retaining quality (although regrettably a correlation with budgets is not yet noticeable).

Awareness of the importance of retaining creativity in difficult times is widespread. Over the past twelve months my organisation has been in dialogue with projects in Russia, South Africa, Canada and Japan, looking at ways in which artists can be involved in regeneration projects and changing environments.

EMBRACING CREATIVITY In Swindon, a timely project is taking shape, with the local authority leading on several initiatives to fill the gap left by big development slowing down.

The creativity intrinsic to, and in some cases leading, these projects has come about partly because artist Natalie Woolf and public art consultant Diana Hatton have been welcomed by the team leading regeneration in the area.

Plans for the re-design and refurbishment of Swindon’s central network of streets will include innovative and technically challenging pavement design by Natalie Woolf. The original design was for pavers that were

LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

Corporate memories are short at the best of times so it is always important to refer to best practice, other projects and case studies and learn from past ‘mistakes’.We must study different practices and frameworks in order to be able to make the case for retaining mixed creative teams which involve artists.

The website www.publicartonline.org.uk is a unique resource, with a huge range of case studies, strategies and policies, practical advice and information on current practice and practitioners. It is important to have the right skillset prevalent in any delivery team, and there are many experienced public art consultants who can bring ideas, artists and funding strategies to bear on projects, often working jointly with lead artists.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

15

ABOVE: Artist Natalie Woolf’s impressions of pavement design in Swindon, with an emphasis on lighting elements.

The stone cutting in the pavers will store water and represent the difficulty of water drainage in an urban setting

TOP RIGHT: Cultural regeneration a driver for change in Folkestone. Elements of the regeneration programme include a masterplan for the redevelopment of harbour and seafront

RIGHT: Foyle Public Art Project’s selected proposal, by Vong Phoaphanit and Claire Obussier, is entitled ‘Mute Meadow’ and touches on issues of identity, history and riverscape

responsive to weather, but the emphasis is now on lighting elements.

The stone cutting in the pavers will store water and represent the difficulty of urban water drainage. The lighting element has been linked to a weather station so that patterns of changing colour speed and frequency and movement across the site are representative of the nature that has been lost.

A general debate is also underway as to the best use of derelict ‘development land’. One proposal is for a series of short-life projects (up to five years) which will, via community engagement, ensure creative solutions are embedded within the design and resulting usage of the space).

Folkstone has also been bucking the trend by placing its faith in a major artsled programme managed by the Arts and Regeneration Charity ‘Creative Foundation’. Like many seaside towns around the country, Folkestone has been in decline since the middle of the 20th century. The Foundation wanted an innovative answer to this by ensuring that urban regeneration did not only focus on economic development, but also on creating a

place where people wanted to live and work. For Folkestone, cultural regeneration is a driver for change.

The much admired Folkestone Triennial forms a major component of this strategy. Other elements of the regeneration programme include a masterplan for the redevelopment of the harbour and seafront, a new £38m city academy specialising in the arts, a university campus with a focus on arts courses, plus a new performing arts centre and a Creative Quarter with more than 100 artists established in a growing number of refurbished studio, living and retail spaces.

In Londonderry, urban regeneration company Ilex has placed arts and culture at the centre of its regeneration plans by supporting the Foyle Public Art Project. The selected proposal by Vong Phoaphanit and Claire Obussier, entitled ‘Mute Meadow’, touches on the issues of identity, history and the riverscape on which the city stands.

This focus on art connects Londonderry to the European cities with rich heritages that have also developed public art projects as a way of negotiating the future. The project is part of a process of regeneration and

re-thinking the city’s identity through arts initiatives, and is viewed as a major contribution to the total process. The Arts Minister acknowledges that the work will place arts and culture at the centre of Londonderry’s regeneration, encouraging tourism and investment.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS The range and diversity of public art practice in the UK over the past 10-15 years has built up a body of understanding that the arts are not only an essential part of everyday life, but also provide stimuli and contexts for all our activities. It is also now clear that they can be central to economic recovery as well.

But this can’t happen in a vacuum.

As with everything, good planning, research and bringing on board the right expertise helps ensure a successful outcome. Remember: it is even more important in times of recession to not just meet expectations, but to exceed them. It is only by ensuring that creativity imbues the regeneration process that this can be achieved.

Maggie Bolt is the Director of Public Art South West

■

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Giving places an identity check

A key element in achieving distinctiveness and citizen engagement with individual areas is to give them a clear sense of identity, and to help in the interpretation and understanding of all of that is around.Tom Evans explores the identity of places

A

s areas of our towns and cities become increasingly similar, with chain shops and identikit architecture prominent on many urban streets, there is growing recognition that places which retain character and local identity are developing a competitive advantage. They score in terms of visitor economy success, and as desirable places to live, work and spend leisure time in. This has led to the emergence of new disciplines

events or festivals that celebrate local character, and the development of marketing initiatives that highlight unique assets and local identity.

An inventive townscapes regeneration project in Burscough Bridge, a large village in Lancashire which had lost its sense of identity over the decades, transformed the area and led to a renewed sense of confidence amongst residents as well as brining benefits to local retailers.

around defining and managing the identity of place, and new thinking about initiatives to improve the appeal of urban areas.

Forward-thinking local authorities and others involved in the positive development of urban places have adopted strategies and initiated projects to limit the negative effects of cultural globalisation, and increase a sense of individuality and distinctiveness. Projects have ranged from the refurbishment of heritage buildings and reworking of urban areas to make the most of unique architectural features, to the introduction of distinctive street signs, support of

The project, involved the resident community and used local myths and traditions to create a series of unique public realm improvements and renew the area’s identity.

Andy Thompson of BCA Landscape, who led the project in partnership with designers Smiling Wolf, believes that ‘a collective notion of identity is a notoriously complex idea to pin down’ and that ‘ultimately it’s the small things that have meaning, woven together from a greater picture, rather than grand sweeping sloganeering or imaginary visions’.

The key challenge of creating a

unique sense of place was the theme of the first national Place Identity conference which took place in Manchester on 2nd October 2009, organised by RUDI in partnership with the IPM. It was the first event to bring together urban designers, place managers and marketeers, economic development officers and tourism professionals to debate the importance of character and identity for urban areas. The conference aims to be an annual event which will widen the debate and encourage knowledge sharing around this subject area.

Highlights of the inaugural event can be found in the box opposite.

Improvements to the character of an area and initiatives that aim to enhance local identity need to be communicated effectively as part of an overall marketing strategy if their full benefits are to be felt and a return on investment realised. Place marketing is now commonly used by towns and cities as a strategic approach to the promotion of their area in the competition for visitors, investors, residents and businesses.

Indeed, the approach has been developed in many places from a focus on short and medium term promotions, with the primary objective of attracting people and finance, to a more long-term process that also aims to invigorate places and introduce a sense of pride and belief amongst those who live there.

Local bodies that adopt a strategic approach to the positive promotion of their area, involving local communities and other stakeholders, can clearly differentiate their area from others and communicate effectively what makes them special. While many large towns and cities have their own dedicated team of people responsible for place marketing, a growing number of local authorities are bringing in external consultants to provide fresh ideas about enhancing the image,

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

17 EXPLORING THE BENEFITS OF PLACE IDENTITY AND LOCAL CHARACTER

A specialist range of speakers joined delegates from across the UK in October 2009 to debate ways of utilizing and preserving local identity for economic success and community cohesion.

Dr Tom Mordue,Assistant Dean of the Teesside Business School, and a member of One NorthEast’s Tourism Advisory Board, set the tone for the day and opened up a wide-ranging discussion with a paper that explored the relationship between tourism development, urban governance and urban public space. He posed a series of questions about the management and development of the visitor economy in a local area and examined ways of balancing the need of the visitor with that of local residents. Investing in a quality public realm was a theme that ran throughout the conference and was tackled early on by Andy Tordoff, Assistant Director of Environment at Regional Development AgencyYorkshire Forward. He demonstrated the difference a quality public realm can make through a series of examples and highlighted the need for greater research to be carried out with regards to a return on investment.The conference uncovered the extent to which place marketing is now seen as an essential tool for any town or city wishing to attract new investment and visitors. Changing perceptions of a place can bring significant benefits, but as both Cathy Parker, Director of IPM and John Till of Thinking Place pointed out, this must be done well and with the involvement of the local community if it is to succeed over the long term.

For further information about this annual conference visit www.rudi.net or contact Tom Evans at tom.evans@rudi.net

performance and profile of a place.

As well as place marketing, towns and cities looking to enhance the identity of an area and improve the urban experience are increasingly favouring the use of wayfinding. The approach uses a set of design elements that aid users in the navigation of the built environment, but can also assist in developing the image of an area.

A number of companies have emerged in recent years to offer services that help users gain a better understanding of a town or city. Such companies are becoming instrumental in defining and reinforcing identity for places and many take a multidisciplinary approach that combines the disciplines of urban design, environmental psychology, marketing and information design.

The Sign Design Society, which was set up in 1991 to promote excellence in signing and wayfinding, is the professional body for many involved in this particular area. The membership of the society is broad and includes those interested in the process of finding effective solutions to the challenges faced by ever more complex environments.

Town and city centres are faced with increased competition from a range of destinations. A competitive environment that makes it ever more important for places to clearly

‘Forward thinking local authorities and others involved in the positive development of urban places have adopted strategies and initiated projects to limit the negative effects of cultural globalisation and increase a sense of individuality and distinctiveness’

OPPOSITE: Local myths and traditions of Burscough Bridge are used as part of a townscape initiative to enhance identity BELOW: A wayfinding scheme by Placemarque enhances legibility and identity in the City of London

differentiate themselves and enhance what makes them unique if they are to succeed in inspiring residents and conveying a positive image to potential visitors and investors. ■

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Australia Day – John Gollings

A space filled with possibilities

Melbourne’s ‘Fed Square’ is the city meeting place and a creative partner in its community and cultural life. It offers something for everyone – exhibitions, screens places to meet, eat and drink and activities that touch mind and soul

F

ederation Square is Melbourne’s most significant public place: more than five hectares of cascading civic and commercial spaces comprising the major civic square, external performance spaces, a large atrium space, a 400-seat performance space and 40 tenancies and operations including national museums, galleries, riverside areas, garden areas, cafés, bars and car parking.

More than 50 million people have visited since its opening, and ‘Fed Square’ is now the city meeting place, its ‘live site’ for outdoor broadcasts, and the home multicultural events and festivals, rallies, promotions and community events and music performances. Currently, more than 1,800 events occur in the public spaces each year, most of which are free.

In 2007, a formal economic impact study was conducted, demonstrating interstate and international visitor expenditures generated in the state by

Federation Square annually at $51.3 million in 2005-06 prices. This translates into an annual $88 million in Victorian gross State product at market prices, and 756 full-time equivalent employment positions across the state.

These results justify the initial $450 million investment by the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne, with support from Federal Government, in creating an ongoing, positive contribution to the State of Victoria.

PUBLIC DEBATE AND DIVERSITY Well before building started in 1998, Federation Square was alive in the minds of Melbournians. Public debate about the site on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets had raged for more than 80 years and, when construction was completed in October 2002, the design by London’s Lab Architecture studio continued to polarise opinion. The management challenge at Federation Square in the

early days was to pursue its broad aims of engagement, while individuals, the media and a range of stakeholders criticised the physical form. Fed Square Pty Ltd’s (Federation Square’s management company) engaged hundreds of diverse communities, forged relationships with sporting and arts organisations, and set up partnerships with major events, reaching out to and reflecting the sentiment of the community.

Four years later, Chris Johnston of The Age, Melbourne’s daily broadsheet newspaper, declared: ‘…it’s now clear that this grand, unusual plaza is the post-modern village green and amphitheatre it was meant to be.’

Where the original management team had little time to envisage the future, Fed Square Pty Ltd is now focused on evolution. Fed Square Pty Ltd, a company wholly-owned by State Trustees Limited as custodian Trustee on behalf of the State of Victoria, sees

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

19

THE MOVE TO MEGA CITIES The world-wide trend is for larger cities, indeed for ‘mega-cities’ where urban density will continue to increase, as will demands on infrastructure, services and the frameworks for social cohesion. The drivers and demands of economies are rapidly evolving. Existing cities, industrial in their genesis, now organise themselves around knowledge, experience, services, innovation and alternative economies. The international language of reborn cities has been informed by Richard Florida, Jan Gehl, Charles Landry and others.

Their argument is for economic and social viability through a human focus, responding to and reflecting the social, economic, ethical and emotional dynamic and spirit of a community.

New urban environments and ‘creative’ cities are not to be shaped by the jargon of planning or the historical patterns of architecture, but rather by new questions: Does it involve you? Make you want to participate? Does it help you be curious, imaginative, creative, innovative and inventive?

Environmental sustainability challenges have galvanised this work further. William McDonaugh, in his groundbreaking Cradle to Cradle, argues for the design of a new system of infrastructure and products which, after their useful lives, ‘create something new’: for example, buildings that produce more energy than they consume, waste which can become nutrient, buildings that can be gardens.

Cities with increased building density, smaller living and working occupancy, services accessibility and good connectivity can be sustainable. But to be liveable, a city needs to optimise our experience of well-being.

Taken together, these ideas have in common the goals and benefits of

‘In 2007 a formal economic impact study was conducted, demonstrating interstate and international visitor expenditures generated in the state by Federation Square annually at $51.3 million in 2005-06 prices’ creating cities that are worth living in rather than accepting a future of glass and steel with pockets of social and economic dysfunction. It is a challenge that developing cities must be ready for.

Melbourne, as a prospective megacity, has embraced such ideas. The role of design and management regarding public places is key. Federation Square itself, both by design and surprise, is Melbourne’s bridge from old city to new city. The basic mix of design, public and private use, managed in the context of its originating Civic and Cultural Charter, has become a contemporary and technically savvy meeting point for the city’s experience economy, social diversity, creative brand and energy and the power of public expression.

In terms of accessibility, challenges related to disability access and

wayfinding have occupied considerable resources. Access initiatives and a new user-oriented signage system are in the process of completion. ‘Fed Square’ as a central touch point for visitors and locals alike has been confirmed in a ‘minutes and metres to Fed Square’ map developed with stakeholders. A similar process has occurred with a bike map to and from the Square, and related services for cyclists have been upgraded. A memorandum of understanding with the state’s public transport marketers and providers has resulted in better integration of access and transport information, on site, in transport and on websites.

A zonal approach has been applied to marketing, assisting users to better understand and navigate the variety of locations and experiences on site. The recent relocation of tour buses to the precinct has reinforced the site as a starting point for visitors.

ACTIVITY INITIATIVES A range of initiatives has been implemeted to increase the sense of welcome and invitation on site. This ranges from a site-wide customer service excellence programme to addressing shortcomings in shade and seating through the establishment of a temporary ‘comfort zone’ activity.

Flexible shade and seating are made available each day in a variety of

The Light in Winter – Marcel Aucar

itself in the business of community building. Notwithstanding its entirely commercial structure, its core objectives are to achieve an international position, and to offer leading edge activities and a great visitor experience. Its business plan focuses on long-term sustainability for both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ infrastructure, management for inclusion, community ownership, creative engagement and leading-edge development.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Australia Day – David Simmonds

Education and creative events are a focus for Fed Sq management locations, depending on weather and activity. The website has been upgraded to better guide users, and to excite them about possibilities.

Contemporary technology (Bluetooth/SMS TV/SMS message soard) reach out to visitors in a variety of ways.

Part of establishing a sustainable creative agenda at Federation Square is simply drawing the focus back to people, rather than buildings or institutions, as creative leaders in a space. This involves encouraging people to think, plan and act imaginatively, whether they are visitors, staff or collaborators, and the management team approaches this challenge with three distinct tactics.

The first is re-conceiving of Federation Square as a stage – being flexible with the buildings and spaces physically and seasonally. The annual Advent Calendar project, initiated in 2006, involves draping the face of the East Shard in a giant canvas with windows opened each night over Christmas, accompanied by outdoor performances. Using the East Shard façade was a significant intervention

into site usage, with rigging points installed and altering the way the site is seen in order to facilitate creative use. Fed Square Pty Ltd sees opportunities to work with artists as a key part of this process.

The second and third tactics are inextricable; encouraging people in – inviting them to be inspired by the space and to see it as flexible – and backing this up with a willingness to meet logistical challenges.

The Light in Winter is a major new project that seeks to combine these principles – challenging seasonality, inviting external creative input as well as re-conceiving how the physical space works. In 2006, Federation Square invited Robyn Archer, former director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival, to develop a new annual event.

Archer proposed a festival of light, drawing in artists and community groups in to create an evolving installation each winter, as the size of Federation Square is ideal for largescale illuminations and light commissions. The small scale ‘occupy’ (art in unsual spaces) programme is designed on the same principles, and

works with the element of surprise.

Engagement in community and culture is core business for Fed Square and attention has been given to integrating programming streams that have burgeoned as the Square has matured, with a view to creating cohesive experiences. These streams include education, broad-ranging events, creative, sporting, multi-media strategies and extensive work with multicultural communities.

Increasingly, programming is seen as a part of place-making. Ultimately, Fed Square is a place for people.

In addition, many actions are oriented to making sure the precinct is safe and clean, and that visitor satisfaction is measured and acted upon. Deals have been done to provide free WiFi, a programme of guides and ambassadors is in place, new initiatives like Late Openings have been developed with stakeholders.

Inappropriate seating is being replaced and more public toilets are planned – all designed to create and re-inforce the sense that the precinct works for people: truly the community’s meeting place at the heart of the city. ■

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Defining a new place

Liverpool One, a £1 billion pound retail-led investment, has transformed and re-activated the heart of the city, says Jamie Scott

T

he major Liverpool One project, initiated by Liverpool City Council in 1999, was completed by developer Grosvenor in 2008. In terms of creating much more than a shopping centre, driving growth and boosting economic viability, Liverpool One has fulfilled client expectations.

By the late 1990s, following decades of decline, Liverpool stood a lowly 17th in the national retail rankings, a huge decline for a city boasting a vibrant city centre until the 1960s. Fewer visitors led to a dropping off of commercial, cultural and leisure activity. Following research, Liverpool City Council prepared a development brief to provide almost 100,000sqm of prime retail space, required to combat competition from out of town shopping centres such as Cheshire Oaks and the Trafford Centre, and regional centres such as Chester and Manchester.

Based on a masterplan design by BDP, Grosvenor won the development competition to become the City’s partner in 2000. The ambition, agreed by all, was to respect Liverpool’s urban character and create an environment of open streets, individual buildings and places of special character. The investment opportunity was dependent upon the retail content of the project, but Liverpool One is not a ‘shopping centre’. It rebuilds the fabric of the city centre; a commitment to the idea that our cities are the social and commercial heart of society.

Liverpool One achieves its objectives by creating a cityscape of individual buildings integrated into a new public realm. The routes and spaces of this public realm weave all the uses of the development into the grain of the existing adjacent urban quarters, and encourage movement between and through the new and existing districts.

The nature and quality of the public realm, which ties the new and old together, is critical to the perception of the new development and the

effectiveness with which it integrates with the surrounding cityscape.

The BDP masterplan is founded upon key principles, rigorously applied, each of which contributes to the idea of the city as a totally permeable network of interconnected places. Liverpool One is made up of more than 30 buildings, each with their own identity, just like the surrounding historic city. The different massing and footprint of each building responds to their immediate context and integrates them into the existing urban fabric. The scale of buildings, and the streets they define, increases across the development from the intimate three-storey setting of Bluecoat Chambers to the grand civic scale of Liverpool’s waterfront.

‘There is a significant public realm in this project, designed to contribute to the whole city, rather that a sequence of enclosed inherently private malls’

A CONNECTIVE PUBLIC REALM Most of the routes within Liverpool One clearly follow the historic pattern of the urban grain and blend into the surrounding pattern of the city. These routes don’t just bring people into the development as a destination, but allow pedestrians to traverse the scheme, using it as part of the city fabric to reach places elsewhere in the city. With the adjoining existing retail district recently receiving landscaping treatment, the transition of public realm finishes into Liverpool One is seamless.

In addition to the retained streets a new route has been created, which for the first time makes a direct link from the retail core of the city to the Albert Dock. This route has had a massive

positive impact on the way the city works and feels, and it resolves a spatial tension that had emerged as the city evolved in recent decades.

The Albert Dock had become an increasingly popular place over the last 20 years since it was regenerated with museums, an art gallery, shops and restaurants, but due to its original status as a secure commercial dock it had remained isolated from other vibrant parts of the city. Liverpool One provides a major boulevard directly to the dock, pulling together the existing retail centre and the waterfront into a much stronger, unified, city centre.

Liverpool’s waterfront continues to change from a private commercial realm into an accessible leisure destination, and the waterfront is arguably the city’s greatest asset in today’s place-making and leisure-based regeneration agenda.

A SENSE OF PLACE Interwoven into the masterplan was a strong desire to give the project a real sense of place – of being in, and belonging to, Liverpool. Understanding the difficultly of making a whole district of new buildings feel specific to a place, the masterplan takes advantage of the topography and landmarks of the city. It creates a series of vistas: those to the Anglican Cathedral and Liver Building, amongst others, were defined by controlling the massing and form of the new buildings in the masterplan to frame views, creating striking juxtapositions of new and old. This has proved to be a highly successful approach, and the numerous views from Liverpool One into other parts of the city extend the aspirations of integration and legibility.

Now completed, Liverpool One has had a huge positive impact upon the city, and has won numerous awards.

Quoting the RIBA Award Judges: ‘The Liverpool One Masterplan has singlehandedly reversed the fortunes of the

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

23 The design brief, prepared by the masterplanning team, determined that the development’s new park should create a green oasis, in contrast to the surrounding hard surfaces of the city centre, with the ability to accommodate a range of outdoor seasonal events. In response, the main amenities of the park comprise a ‘Grand Lawn’, richly planted terraced and walled gardens, sites for pavilion buildings, sheltered seating, mature trees and flexible paved areas.Chavasse Park is fully accessible and open day and night, providing the whole city with a much needed, high quality, green space.

The open spaces allow people to do (and spend) nothing. Its central location, cleanliness and sense of security make Chavasse Park a popular destination in its own right

city ... the result is a vibrant and economically successful retail, leisure and mixed use quarter – an entirely revitalised city centre that now connects properly with the Docks.’

THE ROLE OF RETAIL Whilst noting the two hotels, residential and office accommodation within the development, some critics complain that the scheme is overly dominated by retail at street level. This is to misunderstand the objectives and context of the development. To compete with other destinations Liverpool needed to greatly enlarge its MRA (Major Retail Area), an inevitable requirement of our consumer society, and the objective was to create a critical mass of retail to attract the widest possible range of visitors. One rarely hears complaint that retail is dominating London’s Oxford Street.

Whilst fulfilling its own specific brief, Liverpool One is only an element of

the city centre and, in parallel, the City Council was promoting other projects such as a major Conference Centre and Cruise Liner Terminal. Taken together with other initiatives, these projects all contribute to a wider strategy for the sustainable and mixed use regeneration of the whole city centre.

At an ideological level, concerns have been raised over the move away from local authority control to private management of the public realm in this kind of development. The significant cost of a development such as Liverpool One is primarily funded by retail investment, historically associated with enclosed shopping centres. It is important to appreciate that there is a significant public realm in this project, designed to contribute to the whole city, rather than a sequence of enclosed, inherently private malls.

The quality of the public realm is due to the commitment and investment of the developer, Grosvenor, and from the

outset they identified the need for a quality environment. This need for quality extends to ongoing cleanliness and maintenance, and as landlord it is in their interests to manage these aspects of the public realm for their tenants and visitors.

Liverpool now has a major long-term stakeholder in its city centre, paying business rates on land that was previously derelict. To get to this position Liverpool One has required investment that only a major commercial organisation can secure.

Having seen the initial investment established, the city now benefits from having a commercial partner, with specific skills in managing a complex retail-led development, who will want to protect their investment by continuing to promote the city and its long term regeneration objectives.

■ Jamie

Scott is an architect and urban designer at BDP in Liverpool

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

A model for making better places?

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) can offer a model for better place management, design quality and sustainability in the face of increased competitive pressure says Peter Williams and Giles Semper

I

n the search for effective delivery mechanisms for local economic and social well-being a focus for the way areas define themselves and develop is being increasingly provided by Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), entities with the advantage of both formal status and secure funding, to lead in the role of place management. BIDs are key players alongside local authorities and many of these in London are active in schemes such as the pedestrian-friendly measures at Oxford Circus, the environmental enhancements in Camden and, in the direct experience of the authors, the Business Improvement District Better Bankside seeking to achieve an environmental transformation in a mixed area of inner South London under the Bankside Urban Forest banner.

The adoption of BIDs in the UK should be seen in the wider context of town centre management. For more than 20 years, there has been significant and widespread interest in different approaches to town centre management. The focus has progressively broadened to the point where we now speak of the wider

HOW BIDS WORK

agenda of ‘place management’. BIDs form part of this growth, while offering a distinct and different approach.

As the panel alongside explains, BIDs are established through a ballot of those who will be expected to pay a special levy to improve the defined area and are authorised by local government based on local plans reflecting the priorities of those who will be sharing the expenses.

A board of directors oversees the work and is principally composed of private sector people with some government representation. BID plans typically are authorised for a maximum of five years and may be renewed at the end of the BID term.

The most significant feature of the BID model for the UK is in the way that it generates reliable revenue. Critically the BID model came at a time when the ‘voluntarism’ that underpinned the funding of town and city centre partnerships was beginning to be tested.

The partnership model was becoming a victim of its own success. Multiple retailers and other centre occupiers had begun to flinch at the cumulative costs of supporting partnerships in up to 400 centres. This inflamed an ongoing

A BID is a business-led and business-funded body formed to improve a defined commercial area.The majority of BIDs exist in town centres, however there are increasing numbers in industrial areas, as well as commercial and mixed-use locations.The BID mechanism allows for a large degree of flexibility and as a result BIDs vary greatly in ‘shape and size’.A BID is formed following consultation and a ballot in which businesses vote on a BID proposal or business plan for the area.The ballot, covering a fixed term though attendable, is generally run by the local authority or outsourced by the local authority to a third party.All businesses eligible to pay the levy are balloted.Annual BID income is typically £200,000-£600,000 but can be less than £50,000 per annum or over £2 million. For a BID to go ahead the ballot must be won on two counts: straight majority and majority of rateable value (the value of a commercial property unit).This ensures that the interests of large and small businesses are protected and.The genesis of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) is usually associated with North America, with the first sightings in Canada.The model has since spread to other English-speaking countries, such as South Africa, Ireland and the UK.There is growing interest in mainland Europe, with Germany and the Netherlands in the vanguard.

grievance against ‘free-loaders’ who received the benefits but didn’t contribute.

Since the enactment of the UK BIDs legislation in 2004 the development of BIDs has exceeded the expectation of most. To date there have been in excess of 120 ballots resulting in 88 BIDs. The pattern of development has been characterised as ‘waves’ – with commercial and town centres BIDs being supplemented by a growing number of industrial estate BIDs – but there is no indication of the growth curve abating.

With the more obvious locations already developed, a ‘third wave’ of BIDs is now underway, and includes more marginal locations where property values are lower.

London has led the way in BID development. With just 12 per cent of the population, it provides 17 of the 88 BIDs in the UK (19 per cent at the time of writing).

Although successful BIDs typically rely on there being a degree of ‘organisation’ in commercial centres, there are a variety of other factors that determine success or otherwise. In assessing BID feasibility in a number of locations, The Means, a regeneration and ‘smarter travel’ consultancy focusing on making better places, has developed a matrix of appraisal criteria. These are applied to the whole of a potential area, as well as to smaller ‘zones’ within it: SUSTAINABILITY Is the revenue generated from the levy in proportion to (or in excess of) the revenue required to service the area in question?

VIABILITY Can the levy be set at a reasonable level and still generate adequate funds for the BID? (At this point no-one has developed a model that sets the cost of running a BID against, say, the square metreage of each area.)

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

25 MARKETABILITY What is the likelihood of winning a BID referendum? The costs of marketing the BID and running the referendum need to be in reasonable proportion to the eventual levy outturn. There needs to be an adequate number of businesses which will directly benefit from the BID. Broadly, it is assumed that shops, restaurants, sports and leisure facilities, arts and culture facilities will reap a greater reward in terms of increased business. Offices and most other types of property will reap a lesser reward in this respect, but will benefit in terms of greater employee and client satisfaction.

DO-ABILITY Can BID services complement (or ‘join up’ with) existing services in such a way as to make a significant difference?

Some of the considerations are: ● Is there a ‘gateway’ area which can be improved? ● Are there streets that could benefit from improvements? ● Is there a landmark visitor attraction which can be better serviced? ● Is there a pressing social/environmental issue which can be addressed?

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Businesses can work to deliver social/educational programmes to the communities in which they are located, particularly when there might be benefits in terms of reduced crime and anti-social behaviour. This would give preference to areas with a residential population, particularly ones that suffer from social exclusion. While we are convinced that many locations will meet the above criteria, doubts remain about how the growth in the number of BIDs can be sustained after the more ‘obvious’ locations have considered them. What are the impediments to BID development going forward? We have identified three broad challenges which may restrain or arrest their advance, and considered what the remedies might be.

An important feature of BIDs is that they are private sector-led. However the public sector has played an indispensable role in acting as the catalyst to start the process in different locations, often providing the up-front risk finance. While there is provision in

the BIDs regulations to reclaim start up/campaign costs from the BID levy, that would only be possible in the event of a successful vote. There is little evidence of businesses being prepared to forward fund BID development.

Equally, the earliest BIDs emerged from supportive public sector or trade association-driven learning networks such as those operated by The Association of Town Centre Management, The Circle Initiative, Society of London Manufacturers, Scottish BIDs, and East Midlands Academy. Further BID development will depend to a large extent on other agencies being prepared to follow this route.

Increasingly BIDs are critiqued for their apparent lack of democratic accountability. They are portrayed as a form of corporatism with limited aims other than to drive up sales, and being established to serve one set of masters.

To these charges have been added further concerns around the civil liberties agenda, encapsulated in the phrase ‘the privatisation of public space’.

BIDs need to be sensitive to this charge, examine their objectives and operations, and respond. Best practice in BIDs already provides a coherent and convincing riposte.

While Clean, Green and Safe are still the staples, BIDs are stretching their programmes to include corporate social responsibility, employment initiatives, smarter travel, area promotion, business networking & support, environmental performance and recycling.

This broadening agenda widens the focus onto the so-called triple bottom line – people, profit, planet. Several of the Central London BIDs offer free recycling to their membership. This is driving up recycling rates while at the same time reducing costs for participating businesses. Increasingly BIDs are adopting more of the local economic development agenda with enterprise and employment focused initiatives: Camden Unlimited has tackled the growing problem of retail vacancy through introducing an innovative pop-up shop model.

BIDs can play a key role in place management. Local centre users are not just ‘retail customers’. They include those of all ages, those visiting the library and town hall, for recreation and

At Better Bankside, with so much property development underway, the BID has promoted a strategy for the spaces between buildings, looking for opportunities to steal space for incorporation in the public realm through carefully designed interventions. Making what little space there is available work harder, is being pursued through the introduction of containerised planting and placement of pink chairs

for business. However places do need active management. There is no reason to believe that they are civil by default.

The informal policing of the past is not set to return. People are both less respectful of all levels of authority and less inclined to intervene. Contrary to being a threat, BIDs are already playing a role in democratizing place management. Street wardens, for example, need not be exclusively security personnel. The most successful BIDs have accentuated the ambassadorial role with visitors and businesses. They have linked patrolling with environmental monitoring, where strong relationships have developed with relevant council services, so that problems get reported and fixed. Team London Bridge BID has pinpointed long neglected urban spaces and transformed them through their ‘pocket plaza’ programme.

One thing is common to all BIDs however - they must face the reality that any failure to satisfy their constituencies will see them voted out of office, hence the need to deliver real benefits and for excellent communications with their membership and other stakeholders.

■ Peter

Williams and Giles Semper are partners in The Means, managing consultants to the Better Bankside BID

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Getting it right at night

The evening and night-time economy is a vital ingredient in the appeal of town and city centres. Get it right and they will enjoy a welcome income from tourism, visitors and leisure. But get it wrong and perceptions can plummet overnight.

By Toyubur Rahman and Paul Davies

S

ince the 2003 Licensing Act came into force in November 2005 a new nocturnal ‘army’ of police, licensing officers, night time managers, marshals, town centre managers and street pastors has emerged; on a mission to keep town centres clean, safe and convivial throughout the night.

The recently introduced Purple Flag Accreditation Scheme can also help.

Purple Flag is a way of raising standards, inspiring effort, developing good practice, acknowledging and celebrating success. In simple terms – areas that meet or exceed the standards can fly the flag – similar to the Green Flag scheme for parks and open spaces.

Purple Flag was the brainchild of the Civic Trust, after which it was transferred to the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) to take the accreditation and training scheme forward. The scheme came out of a three-year research project called Night Vision, examining evening and night-time economies. It concluded that, more people would use town centres at night if: ● they were safer, more accessible and offered more choice;

● they offered a good mix of clientele to improve perceptions ● a wider range of attractions would lead to longer term economic viability.

The concept and methodology evolved over the course of eight pilot towns, seven pathfinder areas, market testing with stakeholders and innumerable presentations to professional bodies in the UK and overseas.

The five themes that make up the Purple Flag Core Agenda are designed to capture the rounded perspective of ‘the average night time consumer’. These bring together in one place the range of skills that are relevant to creating a successful night-time destination.

There needs to be evidence of a clear aim and common purpose for the management of an area, and how it offers a positive experience. After-hours policy crosses many professional, budgetary and sectoral boundaries. The challenge is to bring clarity and focus to a complicated field.

For example, getting home safely after an evening out is a prime requirement.

So too is the ability to move around the centre on foot with ease.

Successful hospitality areas meanwhile contain a blend of overlapping activities that encourage people to mingle and spend time. They respect and reinforce the character and identity of the area – demonstratimg flair and imagination in all aspects of design for the night.

It appears that the most powerful argument for Purple Flag is about perceptions. Across the country local authorities, town centre management partnerships, crime and disorder reduction partnerships and police have been working hard to make centres safer and better for after-hours visitors. But this effort goes largely unnoticed in the press and media, who generally focus on the negative and sensational. The result is that many town centres at night have acquired an unduly negative stigma.

A number of Pathfinders have helped to develop Purple Flag – The City Centres of Bath, Birmingham, Kingston, Manchester and Westminster’s Leicester Square and Covent Garden. These areas have made huge improvements to their evening economy and will be the first to be formally assessed and be considered for Purple Flag status.

The experience of Purple Flag offers an insight into the changing function of town centres and the role of urban management professionals. We suggest urban professionals should be more engaged in this area, and in addressing the challenges it poses.

A town centre at night is a completely different environment to the day.

■ Toyubur

Rahman is Development Manager at the Association of Town Centre Management. He is a town centre manager and town planner

■ Paul

Davies was Head of Policy and Development at the Civic Trust. He is a town planner and architect specialising in urban regeneration

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

27

Seeing the light – in a new way!

Guerilla lighting teams are staging dramatic lighting events in order to draw attention to the possibilities, and importance, of lighting in the urban environment, says Juliana O’Rourke

G

uerrilla lighting declares war on bad lighting. It protests against the wasteful use of light, and raises awareness of the power of light. It creates ephemeral and magical moments of quality lighting that are recorded and sent to the media and politicians to instigate action against bad lighting. ‘Lighting Guerillas’ suggest that poorly-designed lighting should be prevented, and that all cities should be encouraged to establish, and enforce, a minimum standard of quality.

Inter-disciplinary design practice BDP launched the initiative in 2006 to demonstrate ways in which the sustainability and aesthetics of urban areas can be improved by lighting design. ‘Guerrillas’ frequently target places in which the inconsiderate use of light, or the need for considered lighting design, is identified. Once ready, they act: under stealth, they head through the shadows into the site.

Under the guidance of a leader, a number of teams create transient lighting designs by using high-powered torches, battery powered LED projectors, luminous dot lights and an array of gels and filters. Instructed to be in a specific position at a given distance from their target, the teams simultaneously light up various aspects of a city’s architecture on the sound of an air horn, creating a dramatic spectacle.

In early December 2009, more than 50 Lighting Guerrillas hit the streets of Manchester for the most recent Guerrilla Lighting event. Organised by BDP’s Manchester lighting team, the event set out to highlight the importance of the night-time environment by spectacularly transforming three sites near to the BDP Manchester studio. The aim was to demonstrate ways of making places and spaces socially inviting for the public, and to promote the issues of a sustainable nightscape through clever use of light.

The installations are photographed, the lighting turned off and the teams move

on to the next site. The teams are made up of local lighting designers, architects, interior designers, artists, developers, project managers and manufacturers, all of whom are keen to draw attention to the possibilities, and importance, of lighting in the urban environment.

Competition is not the issue, and brighter is not better. ‘Guerrilla Lighting

Using high-powered torches and LED luminaires and coloured filters, guerrilas create temporary light installations within the urban architecture

campaign challenges perceptions of lighting in an urban environment,’ says BDP lighting designer Chantelle Stewart. We’re raising awareness of the potential of sustainable, intelligent lighting design by involving people in the lighting of highly recognisable, prominent locations.’

Professionally-designed architectural

lighting enhances the nightscape of our cities and towns but requires the use of energy. In order to ensure that a correct balance is achieved between the benefits of good lighting and irresponsible use of energy, more control is required. The Guerillas point out that not all buildings need or deserve to be lit, but suggest that strategic lighting plans should exist for all cities.

The effects are spontaneous but a great deal of concept and design time is needed in planning for the event to achieve a powerful effect. The visually stimulating addition to the nightscape is temporary, but the record of the event is uploaded onto a website for all to enjoy. Following the event, the Guerrillas head off to a local bar for a well-earned drink and the pictures from the sites are projected for all to see the result of their efforts.

Says BDP’s Brendan Keely: ‘The recent Manchester event was a massive success and raised the profile of the night-time environment. It showed that welldesigned use of light can transform spaces and places into visually stimulating and socially inviting locations. With this comes the responsibility to design using minimum energy and the need to control light so as not to add to light pollution resulting in sustainable design for people, places and spaces.’ Since 2006, Guerrilla Lighting has travelled around the world and events have already taken place in London, Glasgow, Helsinki, Jyvaskyla, Birmingham, Dublin, Isle of Mann, Belfast, Dublin, Poland, Istanbul, Tampere, Reykjavik, Oslo, and Stoke.

Events are being planned for 2010 in Sunderland and Singapore.

To learn more: the event was filmed and photographed by David Barbour and Sanna Fisher-Payne and was followed in real-time, with twitter updates and photographs being posted throughout the event. http://www.youtube.com/user/BDPdotCOM http://guerrillalighting.net ■

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Natural play: adventures in landscape

A community adventure playground set within an historic park is providing space for natural play in an adventurous, exciting and imaginative setting

A

n innovative new play space in Devonport, Plymouth, is helping to inject a new lease of life into an attractive but once under-used historic city park. Following a detailed consultation process with local stakeholders, the landscape team from Atkins has created a natural play area that is attracting families and inspiring young people from across the city.

‘Figures show that use of the play area is up from 3 per cent to more than 13 per cent since it opened in September 2009,’ says Chris Coldwell, Senior Project Manager, Plymouth City Council. ‘The play area has had a huge impact on how the park is used.’

Recent rises in child obesity rates are one of the many drivers behind new approaches to creating innovative play spaces for young people. Child obesity is a problem in the local Devonport ward, says Coldwell, and was one of the reasons why the council was prepared to champion a creatively-designed, inclusive environment, rooted in extensive community consultation.

‘It’s been a long development process,’ he adds, ‘but we wanted to fulfil the spirit of the funding brief, which was to meet community needs in terms of play, appropriate to the setting of this historic park.’

With funding from a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid, together with extensive community and stakeholder input, the grade II listed Devonport Park has been revitalised.

A team from Atkins was asked to design an innovative new play space to

replace the existing, traditional playground. The design aesthetic of the new playground is based on ideas of nature and active play within dynamic spaces of varying scale and character.

An emphasis has been placed on creating spaces that offer spontaneous and self-motivated play in a safe yet adventurous environment, free of constraint yet also meeting safety standards. The playground offers opportunities to engage with nature using features appealing to the senses: landform and rocks, a sensory garden and a maze.

FREEFORM PLAY Atkins’ starting point for the design was a holistic look at the site, says landscape architect Katie Dugdill, leader of the play area team. The site falls steeply from north to south, posing a potential problem with providing level areas for play structures, but offering opportunities to create sinuous banks and curved mounds for freeform play activities.

The playground provides clear learning zones yet creates a continuous, sitespecific and seamless layout, relating closely to local landform and mature trees as well as responding sensitively to its historic setting.

‘We based the design on a combination of prescriptive play and freeform experimentation so that young people can come up with their own ideas about what the site means.

The site constraints, a long 10m slope, helped us to manipulate the landform,’ she says. ‘We were able to pull and

push the earth to mould shape and contour, creating a setting for a mixture of natural play features that encourage imagination.’ The client knew that they were looking for a design based on current ideas of natural play, says Dugdill, but design for play in the public realm is fairly loosely defined, so Atkins was able to take a lead on developing ideas, based on the brief from community consultation.

‘It’s not possible to simply create a playground of boulders and pieces of timber. We needed to build in elements that promote skills such as balancing, swinging and climbing, and which challenge young people physically and build confidence.’

A team pod provides seating and a focal point for ‘older’ young people, although none of the design features are prescriptive. ‘The design is intended to be inclusive for all, but children of specific ages will hopefully be attracted to the features that have been designed for them,’ says Dugdill.

‘Play is also about social learning: learning to share and queue and wait.

It’s about testing boundaries, and our design works to enable this range of interpretation.’

Much of the naturally-focused play equipment originates with European makers; in this case Timberplay. ‘We were looking for a more natural aesthetic, as opposed to hard urban bright metal and colourful plastic.’

Maintenance constraints have meant that a few metal elements were introduced, as metal play elements were seen by the local parks

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

29 LEFT: To inspire design, local school groups, in collaboration with theatre group Stone Soup, created a background story featuring trolls, wizards, kings, wicked queens, fairies and monsters. Atkins' response created three main realms across the playground: Highlands, Middlelands and Lowlands RIGHT: The Lowlands, the most challenging zone of playground, caters for older children and is separated from The Middlelands by a zip-wire. A large, organically shaped, sculptural timber climbing structure, reminiscent of a ship wreck, constructed with timber logs and rope netting is the key feature. A youth pod specifically is designed for teenagers as a meeting point FAR RIGHT: The Highlands toddler play zone for 3+ year olds is situated at the top of the main play zone, within the main play area, in order to minimise any feeling of separation the younger children may experience.The experience of sharing play equipment such as the timber platform house with slide and scramble net, basket swings, see-saw and concrete ‘telephone’ pillars with other children will create opportunities for taking turns and sharing and to help develop cooperation skills

‘The emphasis has been placed on creating spaces that offer spontaneous, self-motivated play in an adventurous environment, free of constraint yet meeting safety standards’ Katie Dugdill, Atkins

department as easier to maintain and less of a fire risk.

LIFE AND ACTIVITY The play area is already attracting new users to the park and, with more people around, there is more life and activity, and therefore increased natural surveillance. The original playground was hidden away behind rose gardens, which didn’t help to encourage users.

The mature trees dotted across the site do cast shadow, says Dugdill, but also produce a natural backdrop that helps to integrate the play features into the larger park.

Fencing has been kept low to avoid creating a visual barrier, and at each access gate Atkins has designed paved pods with benches and bins, providing convenient areas for families and carers to sit and relax. Pedestrian and bicycle routes to the play area are clear and direct. The playground sits within an existing network of clearly delineated, well-used and well-

Contemporary cobbled access pads and seating areas are conveniently located at gated entrance points for each of these zones and provide bicycle parking, timber benches, bins and an informal place for family members and carers to sit

THE NEED FOR ADVENTUROUS PLAY

A recent Government initiative criticised ‘bland and unimaginative environments’ with ‘a lack of attention to design’ as reasons why play spaces fail to attract users.

Play experts have claimed that a disproportionate amount of money spent on playgrounds goes on safety surfacing, to the detriment of other facilities, with play spaces ending up formulaic and with an over-preoccupation with safety.

The issue of risk is repeatedly raised. CABE Space research has found that oversensitivity to risk has stifled the design of rich and stimulating environments.

Pressures to minimise risk and liability in the public realm can lead to authorities ‘playing it safe’, resulting in standardised spaces that fail to delight, educate or offer young people the opportunity to meet or socialise, claims the report Living with risk: promoting better public space design. Research studies have documented the benefits that can come from natural play, including for children’s learning, healthy growth and development. Much of the momentum behind natural play design originates in Denmark, Holland and Germany.These countries offer important examples of how to create well-designed, thoughtful play spaces. Many play experts believe that these countries are getting it right primarily because, as with Devonport Park, landscape architects enjoy a much closer involvement in the process.

The Government plans, in future, to assess local authority performance on play by introducing a play indicator — NI199 — in 2009/10.This means that every year, children and young people will be asked how satisfied they are with their local play areas and parks.This underlines the importance of consultation for play and the need to engage with the community in a realistic and meaningful way.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

‘The design of the playground is extremely imaginative, and a creative way of integrating the playground into its historic setting’ Chris Coldwell, Plymouth City Council

maintained pathways. Bicycle parking has been conveniently placed close to the southern end of the main play area.

Accessibility to the new play area is a key issue, not only due to the importance of play for children with disabilities, but because it teaches ablebodied children tolerance and empathy. The playground has been designed with several types of groundlevel play and with many possibilities for interaction, on and off the equipment, for children of all abilities.

Around the playground, adjacent open grassed areas provide an environment for exploratory play.

Research suggests that only 4 per cent of children with disabilities are wheelchair- bound and therefore not all play equipment needs to be useable by those children. This scheme enhances their play experience by utilising pieces that have a sensory appeal including the Phones in Concrete feature, which can also appeal to the visually impaired. The design also includes a small wheelchair carousel and nest swing that can be used by all.

■ Juliana O’Rourke spoke to Katie Dugdill, Atkins, and Chris Coldwell, Plymouth City Council

A COLLECTIVE ADVENTURE TAKES SHAPE

The design for Devonport Playground represents an adventure story in landscape form: an evolution from toddler to teen across the site.The catalyst for the development of this creative design was an extensive community consultation process, involving hands-on events to create temporary playscapes from low-cost materials in order to develop ideas. Evidence suggests that engaging young people in creating their own spaces and testing their own risks can lead to ownership and responsibility. Encouraging the exploration of new ideas is also successful with adults, and Bristol-based TouchWood Community Consultation Experts worked for months to resolve a range of differing stakeholder expectations, involving a number of local representatives from Plymouth City Council,The Friends of Devonport Park and young people from local schools and community groups.

The historic nature of the park, which is home to several world war two bunkers, led some members of the local community to question its suitability as a playground site.Yet on opening in September 2009, with 3-4,000 people attending the opening event from across Plymouth, the sensitively designed and sited play area has proven hugely popular with families.‘Atkins work,’ according to local councillor Michael Leaves,‘received praise from across the Council and Friends of the Park and other partners for its imagination and ability to translate community aspirations into plans.’

Sensitive to community feeling,Atkins carefully placed the playground design with respect for the existing environment, with tree planting kept to a minimum as the site already contains a number of mature trees, including a tree avenue to the western border of the main play area. Says Chris Coldwell, Plymouth City Council: ‘The design of the playground is extremely imaginative and a creative way of integrating the playground into its historic setting. It blends with the landscape.’

‘As a designer, says Dugdill, the best outcome is to see your designs in use. On the opening day, it was great to see that young people were all over the play features like ants. For me, the success of this project has been working with a client that was willing to take a leap of faith in creating memorable play for kids.’ In the words of Plymouth’s deputy mayor:‘It’s a wonderful playground. It will encourage people to use the park and establish the happy memories of playing that we have ourselves as adults.’

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Announcing a new forum for those working to create better places

In association with

For a decade RUDI has been leading the way in the dissemination of knowledge and best practice in the field of urban design and development. But it is more than ‘just a website’. In recognition of the broad range of activities that are now taking place, the Urban Intelligence Network will act as the forum for agenda-setting dialogue amongst all those concerned with achieving more successful and sustainable urban areas.

Offline

Online ■ Information resource www.rudi.net

■ Publications

■ Image

■ Events

library (coming soon) www.urbaneye.info

■ Recruitment

www.urbandesignjobs.com

Leading specialist titles Knowledge sharing, networking and industry conferences

Are you in the network?

Visit www.rudi.net to register for a free trial and receive updates from us or call 0845 270 7898 Or email info@rudi.net

■ Training

Tailored courses and CPD

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

More power to outdoor events

Attracting people to use public and private spaces supports the commercial viability of town centres, parks, and historic gardens.Yet the logistics of place management can be complex, says Mike Brown

O

Unique environments such as streets, terraces, squares, parks and gardens remain unspoiled by the intrusion of modern boxes and clutter; yet the latest power, air and water technologies can be used on site

Safe, secure and silent power is vital for health and safety purposes as well as conservation and aesthetic ideals

utdoor public events can be a great boost to the economic vitality of most places.

Weddings, music festivals, fetes, arts events, exhibitions and markets: all of these attract visitors and create a thriving local economy. Yet any event promoter or town centre manager appreciates the complexity of staging events in busy public places. From parking provision to traffic regulation, crowd control and policing to the provision of public toilets, entertainment facilities and catering, event logistics can be taxing.

Nowadays, the lifeblood of most historic houses, parks and open spaces is a successful events calendar.

Many events require increasingly sophisticated and power-hungry equipment: big screens, sound systems, lighting rigs and interactive kiosks. One of the regular problems with holding successful outdoor events is that of electricity supply, coupled with the constant need to maintain safety standards, including the risk management of equipment used by entertainers and catering suppliers.

POWERING ACTIVE SPACES Until recently, a key source of power was the mobile generator, albeit with the attendant problems of noise pollution, the difficulty of moving heavy vehicles over well-kept lawns and the danger of fire and fuel spillages.

Today, the answer is frequently in the hands of specialist suppliers.

Retractable power units, such as those manufactured by Pop uP Power Supplies, can provide efficient electricity supply for most outside

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

33

ABOVE: For the refurbishment of international entertainment venue Wembley Arena Square, Pop uP Power Supplies’ retractable ‘in ground’ service units provide power for entertainments and markets.These units can be recessed into the ground when not in use, enabling unimpeded pedestrian access LEFT: The power for sound and lighting, as well as the all important catering outlets, were all safely provided by Pop uP Power Supplies units in the gardens at a Chiswick House evening of opera, enabling organisers to serve barbequed meats and freshly shucked oysters, adding to the event’s conviviality

events, along with water and air supply as required.

One immediate benefit of this type of equipment is their discreet installation. With current minimalist trends in landscape design, these fully retractable units can be stored safely underground until they are needed.

When they’re not in use they’re not visible, thanks to the unique way in which they can be ‘paved over’.

The multi-million pound Chiswick House and Gardens renovation project has made effective use of Pop uP Power Supplies’ retractable units. Chiswick House, a magnificent neo-Palladian villa set in beautiful historic gardens in west London, was built in 1729 by the third Earl of Burlington to showcase his art collection. The house continues to be a popular entertainment venue.

CONSERVATION AND AESTHETICS Decades of intensive use and insufficient resources had left the grounds and garden buildings in decline. In response, English Heritage and the London Borough of Hounslow funded a £12 million restoration that, now complete, is helping to increase revenue and introduce more people to this historic site. Safe, secure and silent power is vital for health and safety purposes as well as conservation and aesthetic ideals, and the retractable installations underpinned the flexibility of the restoration.

In September 2009, the venue hosted the Chiswick House Dog Show – ‘the

best yet’, according to the organisers, in association with Chiswick House Friends. More than 1,200 visitors enjoyed the show held in the gardens, basking in sunshine and soaking up the atmosphere. In June 2009, Chiswick House Friends hosted a successful summer opera, The Garden Opera Company’s The Barber of Seville, set in the newly-restored gardens of Chiswick House.

DISCRETION AND SIMPLICITY Pop uP Power Supplies’ supply points are permanently installed underground, and can be raised to provide a range of power options by means of inserting and turning a simple handle. Unique environments such as streets, terraces, squares and gardens remain unspoiled by the intrusion of modern boxes and clutter; yet the latest technologies can be used on site.

At London’s Covent Garden, retractable service units are fitted with recessed tops for use with historic cobbles, blending the unit into an architecturally important site. Camden Lock, London, renowned for the crowds attending its outdoor weekend markets, has installed ground units that blend into the environment, providing safe and secure power to a vulnerable site.

Each unit is individually ‘tripped’, so that if one piece of equipment is faulty that socket will ‘trip out’ but the rest will perform as usual. As an additional safety benefit, the handles that raise

and lower the units can be easily operated by a single individual.

The safety aspect of Pop uP Power Supplies’ ground units has been highlighted by a case in the north of England. Using generators to provide power is a risky process as meticulous care, cleaning and maintenance is needed to prevent fires or noxious gas emissions. In August 2009, fire crews from Stalybridge and Ashton were mobilised following reports of a fire involving a diesel generator at a food processing plant in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Crews were faced with a welldeveloped fire involving the generator and a large quantity of diesel.

Examples of generator-related fires make the news time and time again. A generator, since removed by police, is also at the centre of HSE investigations into the Maple Mill inferno, Oldham, which started April 2009.

Retractable service units are being successfully used to provide electricity, water and air supply to historic sites, market places, town squares and parks.

They also offer possibilities for more varied uses, for example upgrading stadiums and sports venues. Pop uP Power Supplies has a commitment to providing safe, secure and silent power in an aesthetically pleasing way to enhance and activate a wide range of outdoor events.

■ Mike

Brown is the managing director of Pop uP Power Supplies www.popuppower.co.uk

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

www.falco.co.uk

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

35

Temporary screens can play a central role in outdoor entertainment and provide a communal experience for watching big sporting and cultural events.

All the world’s a screen…

Moving images have escaped from the cinema and the living room to become a regular feature in the public realm. Peter Stonham and Tom Evans explore the issues of planning, management and programming behind the screening of films and projections in street life

W

illiam Shakespeare famously claimed that ‘All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players’. This remains true today: indeed, streets and places are positively animated by people and their daily interactions and transactions.

But as well as acting as a stage, much of the built environment is also potentially a screen. New technologies in terms of projection, and creative thinking about the locations and context of where and how images are shown have opened up possibilities for bringing moving images into urban situations.

We see tragedies, love stories and comedies play out on streets and in public spaces. As well as orchestrating these cameo activities within the remit of place management, emerging projection and display technologies mean new elements can be injected

into the public realm to help create new experiences for us all.

THE OUTDOOR CINEMA People flocked to drive in cinema during the 50s & 60s in the US to catch the latest film, gather with friends and enjoy the outdoor movie-going experience. There was, and still is, something special about watching a film in a different setting from the traditional cinema while enjoying the outdoors at night.

While the explosion of television and home entertainment contributed to a decline in the number of people attending cinemas in general, as the 20th century came to a close people began to rediscover the shared entertainment experience, in both live music and movie watching. This trend has continued into the new century

and, as the number of cinema-goers has increased, so too have those looking to show films in different locations and enjoy new ways of creating shared visual experiences.

A number of places have become known for their programme of outdoor screenings in recent years: Somerset House, Trafalgar Square and City Hall in London, for example, regularly host film nights, as do Brighton beach and Reigate’s Priory Park.

Stuart Brown, the BFI’s head of events, noted recently in an article in The Independent: ‘The increasing demand for outdoor screenings is a reaction to the insular nature of iPod and download culture. People still want to come together and share an experience, which is a very human impulse. As technology advances and digital projection becomes more

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

accessible, we will see a huge increase in open-air cinema. There’s something very exciting about the epic scale of it.’

Film festivals and sponsored outdoor cinema nights have meant that open air screenings are now commonplace in towns and cities across the country during the summer months. Content is diversifying from classic feature films to sport, music and other topical events as well as independentlycreated material. But as people develop an appetite for watching moving images in different settings and enjoy the experience of gathering together for an evening of outdoor entertainment, what are the implications for those who manage urban areas?

BIG SCREENS The showing of pictures in public spaces can be supported by either permanent or temporary systems – fixed or mobile installations. As the number of outdoor film screenings in British towns and cities has grown, so too have the number of permanent ‘big screens’. There are now 21 of the BBC’s Public Space Broadcasting screens in towns and cities across the UK, the first of which was erected in Manchester’s Exchange Square in 2003.

Working in partnership with the BBC, a

variety of companies provide the digital screens and technical expertise while local authorities host the screens and manage the public space in which they are set. Apart from BBC programming, the screens are often used to show locally-made short films, event information and sports coverage and are increaingly being used for interactive purpose such as games based on movement recognition or to show texts and photo-images sent by audiences.

These screens are likely to grow in number during the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games as the BBC works in partnership with LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) and local authorities to develop a chain of big screens across the UK. While local authorities in host towns have greeted the screens positively, there are a growing number of commentators and national bodies who believe that they can have a negative impact on the built and urban environment in which they are placed.

The issues range from physical intrusion to crowd management and amenity impacts, as well as concerns over power supply and health and safety.

The Evening Standard’s, architecture critic, Rowan Moore, is a strong opponent of the BBC’s screens and recently wrote that ‘almost no thought

MELBOURNE’S MULTIMEDIA

The role of creative activity is key in fostering an environment of stimulation and in Federation Square, Melborne, (see page 12) the aim is to shape the site through a prism of innovation.A major focus in this area has been the development of Federation Square’s multimedia platform.

This links with the experiential needs of

visitors in a public place, the most basic of which is visual complexity.The Big Screen – always a focus at Federation Square – was upgraded in 2007 and the team developed an interactive product called SMS Fed TV, allowing visitors to text the screen and determine the images to be shown.This builds on the basic SMS text interactivity

seems to have been given to the appearance or siting of the screens.

They are grey and lumpen and present rears as dull as the backside of any TV, only much bigger.’ Meanwhile there have been some public order problems experienced where large crowds gather.

THE POTENTIAL OF PROJECTION Digital projection has opened up new possibilities for developing different forms of entertainment in urban places and ways of enhancing community participation. You can turn up with a truck, project onto a building façade or ‘pop up’ screens in almost any location and add moving images to the urban entertainment mix. Even bridges and clouds are potential urban screens.

No self respecting club, venue or festival gets by these days without the projection of moving images, and that the same now applies to outdoor events held in town or city centres.

As the public expects more from entertainment in general, managers of urban areas are utilising temporary and permanent urban screens to add an extra dimension to the urban experience and create multimedia events.

While these technological developments represent new possibilities for programming more exiting and engaging town centre

offered by the scrolling LED screens on the East Shard. Federation Square is also assisting in the development of the international Urban Screens Network, which will enable future multimedia collaborations and content-sharing with Berlin, Hong Kong and London among other cities.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

37

events, there are, of course, practical management issues to consider.

The use and placement of screens, especially those that are permanent, needs careful consideration. What are the planning and licensing issues? Who should be responsible for programming content? Should there be an entertainment or informative focus?

What are the boundaries with regards to commercial activity and artistic freedom? And what impact could they have on the character of a place?

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Crowd management is a key concern for anyone organising an event in the public realm. Manchester witnessed the fallout from technical gremlins when a large crowd gathered to watch a football match and were unable to do so. Issues of overcrowding and access need to be addressed: should events be ‘fenced off’ to control numbers, for example, and is this really desirable in a public place? Similarly, noise pollution from events or the screens themselves can have a negative impact on nearby residents and those using urban areas for other activities. If screens are used throughout the day, do they take away the opportunity to enjoy the peace and quiet of a public square or park?

Typically measuring 7.3m wide and 4.1m high, the BBC’s Public Space Broadcasting screens are substantial objects. They form a focus for many of the places in which they are set. This raises questions about their use, placement, and legacy. Should they be left blank when there is nothing significant to show or should they be used throughout the day? Do they impact negatively on the character or identity of a public place? And what happens to them and the space that they occupy when they become obsolete?

New guidance has already been issued by CABE and English Heritage with regards to big screens. Richard Simmons, Chief Executive of CABE recently stated: ‘This is a growing issue. Before any decision is made to permit a screen, local authorities need to ensure that local character will be preserved or enhanced, and that any harm is minimised. This means having robust policies to protect public spaces,

Mobile screen systems can bring moving images to virtually any location

and a plan to resolve competing applications from other broadcasters or commercial operators.’

CABE and English Heritage recommend that local authorities: ● permit the screens only as part of an overall strategy for regeneration; ● assess the potential impact of proposals on the historic environment; ● avoid buildings and places of architectural or historic interest, and competing with public art; ● discourage proposals for commercial advertising, and ● carefully assess the proposed broadcast content and its potential influence on audience size, public access and safety.

GUERRILLA CINEMA Planning and regulation aside, a growing trend among those looking for more unconventional and interesting ways of showing film and projecting moving image in public spaces is meanwhile to simply turn up and do it!

Guerrilla cinema has become a worldwide phenomenon, with secret screenings taking place in various urban spaces. The reasons for putting on a guerrilla cinema show range from transforming the urban environment and reclaiming public space through do-it-yourself public entertainment to smaller gatherings with friends or other like-minded people to enjoy an evening of outdoor film without a feeling of overt commercialisation.

Technological developments could see this phenomenon grow in the next few years, as a whole new era of guerrilla cinema is made possible by small hand held projectors that use LEDs to project

an image up to 60inches across and use an MP4 file on an iPod or phone.

As the use of projection in new and often unregulated forms takes hold, could we soon see new laws being introduced to control DIY screenings in public places? New laws were introduced in the mid 90s to control DIY music events, as ‘secret’ call-up-tofind-the-location raves became popular across the country. It could be argued that makeshift cinemas and DIY projection brings life to urban centres and provides free entertainment for the enjoyment of everybody. But others might see it as another distraction and hindrance to their daily lives and their enjoyment of public spaces as simply places to relax.

THE CHALLENGES FOR PLACE SHAPING PROFESSIONALS While the development of projection provides unlimited opportunities to show film and create screens anywhere in the urban environment, there are numerous challenges faced by those responsible for shaping the places in which we live. Urban screens, ad hoc projection and temporary screenings can all add an interesting flavour to urban environments, but professionals must consider the impact they have on the daily life and character of an area. Each place and each screening should be considered on its own merits and the overall objective of creating great living spaces should not be forgotten. So all the world could be a screen – but it is the places, the people and the people’s desires and values that must remain centre stage. ■

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

The sonic essence of place

In future, says sonic architect Martyn Ware, all senses should be taken into consideration when designing public places. His work explores the creative possibilities of 3D soundscapes in the animation of architectural space

T

hree dimensional soundscaping can transform a neutral environment into a fully immersive three-dimensional soundscape, dramatically enhancing the observer’s experience and making it more involving, immediate and memorable. Technology and expertise affords ‘sonic architects’ a unique opportunity to create sculpture with sound. Sound sculptures act as a 'hub' for collaborative projects in the artistic and digital domain, drawing upon the talents of many in a range of creative and commercial fields.

Soundlife Workington, the world’s first permanent outdoor 3D sound installation, is a demonstration of the ways in which the ‘essence of place’ is of great importance to sonic architects.

As part of a new series of public artworks commissioned to help reenergise the new pedestrianised city centre of Workington, sonic architects Illustrious, together with Base Projects, created a kind of 21st century ‘bandstand’ featuring 12 discreetly concealed speakers enabling an invisible 3D soundfield to occupy the space.

Although this was conceived as a public facility for performance, we also created the first distillation of the ‘sonic essence’ of place. Following two weeks recording

what makes Workington the place it is – a benefit for local people as it helps them to re-examine the pride they have in their cultural history – a one- hour loop of the final 3D composition plays throughout the day to help animate the new civic space.

This project provided a ‘proof of concept’ for the huge Soundlife London 3D sound installation in Leicester Square Gardens in 2009. In collaboration with the City Of Westminster council and the Arts Council, the project involved

community groups, schools, ethnic associations, reminiscence groups in recording their impressions of typical sounds of London. These recordings were harvested and augmented, the result being the creation of a one-hour, genuine sonic work of art ‘by the people, for the people’ which played 10 hours a day for 10 days to over 2 million people.

Reaction to the piece was extremely positive. Finally, there is one project that we’ve been working on for the last 4 years that encapsulates all of our collaborative, multi-disciplinary skills and ethical beliefs.

We are involved in many ongoing and developing 3D sound projects, and we truly believe that the future norm for animation of architectural space will include the positive modulation of space using sound as a creative tool for architects and designers from the early stages of their designs – not just as a last-minute, under-budgeted fix for a problem that could have been easily foreseen.

■ Martyn

Ware is founder and director of Illustrious: www.illustriouscompany.co.uk

3D SURROUND SOUND

As a spatial sound designer and ‘sonic architect’, Martyn Ware has discovered a great deal about the potential uses of immersive soundscaping during the last ten years.After his time in the bands The Human League and Heaven 17 and working as a creative consultant on an innovative 3D sound auditorium at the ill-fated National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield in 1999,Ware formed the Illustrious Company (together with good friend and colleague Vince Clarke from the group Erasure) in 2000 to create new forms of spatialised sound composition using a unique three dimensional surround-sound system called 3DAudioScape, codesigned by Illustrious together with Paul Gillieron Acoustic Design.The software provides an elegant and intuitive interface that enhances creative thought and design within virtual and real acoustic environments.

In collaboration with artists, practitioners and creatives, Illustrious provides bespoke soundscapes to ‘inhabit’ architectural spaces, exhibitions, art installations, galleries, museums, and live events. Over the past ten years, Illustrious have created a vast range of immersive sound installation for many internationally renowned clients and organisations around the world.

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor