Thomas Starkey
Site Analysis and Masterplan - East of Dundee House Site Context
Form
1.44 ha
This poster outlines the proposed masterplan for the NCP car park, East of Dundee House. The 1.44 ha site lies within the city centre, surrounded by key buildings such as Dundee House and Overgate. The proposed developments include several mixed use buildings, an extension to Wilison House and a large expanse of civic amenity space. Pedestrian permeability forms a key focus of the proposal, in addition to high quality materials and functionality.
Car Park “Back Area” “Pass through”
No purpose
Function
Bland streetscapes with little/ no furniture
Two listed buildings with character
City centre within Marketgait’s dense
Site surroundings largely void
Busy multi-storey on site
Poor permeability within site
Vehicle orientated environment
Movement restrictive
Dundee House
Difficult for pedestrians to cross
Overgate and Reform Street
Safety concerns over busy North Lindsay Street
South Ward Road used as a shortcut, yet poor pedestrian access
Despite this, several ‘pulls’ to draw people:
Mixture of low and medium enclosure; car park is exposed and space ill-defined
Movement and Accessibility
Ward Road features church, gym & offices
Many buildings face away from site
Otherwise uninspiring architecture
Traffic
Substantial car park
Several offices in and around the site
Substantial night time economy nearby
Generally to human scale
Some imagability, possibly for wrong reasons
Several buildings falling into disrepair
Robertsons famous Dundee store
Derelict buildings and unused floor space
Traffic limits movement in area Primary routes concentrated around Overgate and Dundee House
Poorly defined routes through site
Nearby Public transport access shown below: Yellow = bus routes, blue = bus stops/interchange, red = site
110004310 I
‘Back Area’
Unpleasant Surroundings
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Largely uninspiring architecture
Derelict or abandoned sites nearby
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Many buildings rear and face away from the site
Unpleasant area for passing through
Buildings unpleasant to look at
Narrow pavements
Uninviting and unwelcoming environment
Few interesting aspects
People hurry through, no reason to linger
Some landscaping outside Overgate
Used as a shortcut to city centre
Intimidating at night
No real purpose of the site
Demographics
Comparing the City Centre with Dundee West (Figures 1 and 2) reveals a much larger working population in the City Centre.
Of the 82% working age group, there is an 18% income
The median age is 23.
There are lower numbers of pensioners and children in the city centre than Dundee West.
Of the 116 people living in the site area, 47% are students.
This is shown in Figure 3, with the majority being under 30.
deprivation within the city centre.
Streetscape view of South Ward Road
Derelict Land—South Ward Road
Figure 4 shows the housing demographics of the area.
Adjoining building to Dundee House
Planning Context
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Within the city centre boundary of the Dundee Local Development Plan 2013, endorsing retail, offices, restaurants and limited housing.
The only current planning application is the Overgate Extension, granted time extension permission in 2011.
Other nearby applications are mostly change of use, demolition of disused warehouses on South Ward Road and telephone cabinets The site is within the Central Conservation Area, defined as a distinct area desirable to preserve or enhance (Figure 5).
Dundee Local Development Plan 2014 Planning Policy
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Streetscape view of Willison Street Barrack Street
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Land Use
Council services are the majority site land use e.g. Dundee House, Criminal Justice and Community services.
Most people use Overgate for eating and drinking due to few nearby.
The Houff graveyard provides secluded open space in the city centre, albeit unlit and potentially unsafe at night.
Policy 7—High Quality Design
There is a high presence of the night time economy nearby, including Clarks, Westport, Liquid Envy and Fat Sams.
Policies 20, 21—Town Centre Frontages
Policy 29—Low and Zero Carbon Technology in New Development
Other public open space within the city centre is only at McManus and Caird Hall.
The allocation of land use on site is shown right.
Shared surfaces, Narrower roads and chicanes to reduce speeds
Streets rather than roads
Confine traffic out of site
Speed-restricting surfaces
Reduces noise from traffic
Re-organise road layout allowing movement
Free movement to most destinations
Allows simpler road layout
Extends Dundee City Centre pedestrian areas
One way streets for pedestrian ease
Segregated traffic from pedestrians
Concept of restricting traffic movement vs pedestrians
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Improve natural environment
Create an iconic meeting place
Add greenery and natural shelter
Develop a landmark civic space
Functional area for all hours
Develop safe, well overlooked streets/ plaza
Develop a draw from surroundings, attracting people to spend time
Improve facings and frontages onto site
Improve the area’s architectural value
Create community spaces within buildings for home businesses or meetings
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Create a pleasant environment to spend time in Create a space for all users to enjoy
Policy 48—Listed Buildings
Masterplan
Policy 50—Development in Conservation Areas Policy 54—Active Travel Policy 55—Accessibility of New Developments Figure 5 — The site outlined in red, with the conservation Policy 57—Car Parking area in blue (Dundee City Council, 2013)
Section Analysis
Dundee House is the tallest building relative to the site surroundings, along with the nearby DC Thomson building. North Lindsay Street runs adjacent to Dundee House, acting as a barrier to the car park beyond.
Accessibility
Land Use
Transition from limited pedestrian movement restricted by road to free pedestrian movement, with managed road routes
Multitude of options available for walking
Roads are now not a barrier to movement
Final Proposal
Amount of development is in line with surrounding areas Increases amount of City Centre public space
Proposed City Centre Solid & Void
St. Andrews Square is located in a prominent location in Central Edinburgh, near Princes
Improve permeability between areas
This reduces traffic speed
Larger pavements
Safer environments for cyclists
More pedestrian friendly
Plot 3 and 4 features ground floor retail/bar/ restaurant space (Units 7 & 8) in addition to upper floor business/office space.
Buildings should respect the character of surroundings
Total building floor area is approximately 2100 sqm.
Utilise aspects of central
Outstanding design is preferred,
Use of high quality building materials
Consider use of similar stonework —e.g. Old Red Sandstone (DC Thomson),
Must complement surroundings
Importance of good insulation
To promote all hour usage, streets must be well lit
Lighting should be used to highlight the built environment and landmarks
Fusion Glasgow
These must be strategically placed to reduce energy use and use LED
Lock Warehouse, Gloucester
technology
Site Open Space
Proposed site movement
Lighting
conservation zone
A green roof covers both buildings with potential solar panel support
Building Materials
Október 6. utca, Budapest
Design Aspects to Incorporate: Similarities between new and old
A green roof is also present with options for solar panels
Convert roads to narrower streets
Prior site movement
listed and new developments. This means the design of the public realm needed to incorporate several eras of architecture and design. Work was undertaken by Gillespies LLP and was completed in 2008. The design retains the aspect of the historic square, yet provides a large central open space with a focus on the Melville Monument. A visual connection between the two main shopping streets is developed, creating a desire to walk between the areas.
Neutral Design Methodology
Underground car park space provided with rear access in addition to goods delivery access.
for iconic and unique styling
The square itself is surrounded on all aspects by a range of building types—both
Sensitive development strategy
Features ground floor retail space (Units 1—4) and 6 upper floor apartments (total approx. 5400sqm).
Design Strategy
Streets Not Roads
Urban Realm
Case Study: St. Andrews Square, Edinburgh
Development:
The Houff is secluded from the site with no clear direction to it despite historically being a meeting
Street and features a tram stop for Waverley Station. The 2.25 ha area is substantially larger than the Dundee House site, however has recently been redeveloped to improve and reopen the area to the public. Similarly, St. Andrews Square lies within a conservation area in addition to an UNESCO World Heritage site, therefore had complex challenges to be overcome for development. A café was proposed as well as redesigning the layout and environment to promote walking through the site and to create a place for meeting and relaxation in the capital.
The unique design of Plot 1 operating on a ‘twisted axis’ concept, with several protruding balconies
The majority of buildings in the locality are of 3-4 stories in height; including the telephone exchange and two on site listed buildings.
Context:
Plot 2 is an extension to the existing Willison House, mirroring the art deco façade
Overview of civic space, approx. 0.3 hectares
Features two wildflower garden planters with space for seating on the outer edge
Units 5&6 offer large retail space on the ground floor
Space for public art on a plinth
Children’s playground is also provided for users of Overgate and Dundee House
Upper floors consist of community space for small to medium sized businesses in addition to flexible community space
Total approx. 5,000 sqm of mixed use space
Concert Square, Liverpool
Streets Materials
High quality paving used throughout
Similar cobbled style to Barrack Street
Raised cobbled pedestrian crossings to slow vehicles
Maintain character of conservation area.
Street furniture enhancing character. Barrack Street Cobbles