The Easton Circle: Brief

AR30021: NIGEL BEDFORD

THE

SWETA LAKSHUMANAN SANKER

EASTON CIRCLE

CoNTeNTS 01

Narrative

13

Site

19

Precedents

29

Intent Clients Funding

Plan Considerations Environment Drawings

Spatial (Buildings) Contextual (Material and Approach)

Proposal

Schedule of Accommodation Adjacencies

Easton Circle

OPEN

1

Narrative

This is Southmead.

This is Horfield.

This is Westbury-on-Trym.

This is Lockleaze.

This is Bishopston.

This is Eastville.

This is Redland.

This is the Bristol-Bath cycle path.

This is Ashley.

This is Easton.

This is Clifton Down.

This is Cotham.

This is Central Bristol.

This is Clifton.

This is Lawrence Hill.

This is Harbourside.

“Easton voted one of the top 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world This is Southville.

by Time Out�

This is Windmill Hill.

This is Bedminster.

This is Knowle.

This is Filwood.

This is Brislington West.

NARRATIVE

LET’S TALK EASTON

From being a royal hunting estate in the early 17th century to a ground for coal and clay extraction in the late 18th century, Easton is a region that has seen one of the largest shifts in economic growth, immigration statistics, demographic aspects as well as overall standards of living in the entire country over the past few decades.

Historically looking back at the end of the 20th century, Easton was once categorised as one of the most deprived regions in the country - to the extent that the area was granted a ‘European Union Objective 2 Status’1 and allocated into the United Kingdom ‘New Deal for Communities’2 programme.

Tabloids dubbed this region as being home to one of Britain’s most dangerous streets - Stapleton Road as it was identified as one of the top five crime hotspots within the country. Children within the vicinity which included Home Secretary, Sajid Javid described their daily lifestyle as a never ending game of dodgeball - manoeuvring between the recruitment of minor shoplifters along the school hallway and the persuasion of drug addicts outside the school yard.

01

NARRATIVE

Fast forward 20 years later and Easton is now considered to be one of the top 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the entire world; which begs the question - what changed? Did Easton undergo a major gentrification process like those in the suburbs of London? Or did the authorities simply decide overnight to take action and imprison all the criminals around Easton?

The answer to that question lies within the notion of its surrounding community as Easton prides itself on being an exemplar neighbourhood consisting of an invested community of individuals who place the well-being of their neighbours, their children and their surroundings at the forefront of their lives.

‘‘

This is where residents protested for seven hours against the forced immigration of their neighbour Sammy Jones, Time Out 3

NARRATIVE

Even with its overwhelming success in creating a safer and happier environment when compared to that of the last few decades, Easton still proves to be one of the most bewildering and contradicting urban wards within the country.

Hey Easton, how are you?

Well...

Brendan Wistreich, the Interim Director at a local communityled organisation called Up Our Street described his rising concerns about how Easton’s new found popularity has already resulted in rising inequality levels as housing prices escalate and the process of gentrification kicks in - forcing the very community which makes Easton what it is to move out and look for more affordable areas to live in.

As familiar faces start to get lost in a sea of new developments and families move in and out of Easton, the community has identified a growing problem of social isolation within the region. Easton’s growing population of the elderly who are excluded from work and detached from the rest of the community as well as the large influx of young immigrant families who live in overcrowded homes and suffer from severe culture shock have proved to be a growing concern for the community as the existing rich interdependence between the generations start to diminish.

03

INTENT

NARRATIVE

The brief for this project therefore extends from the idea of creating a SOCIAL CIRCLE via a community centre for the existing and growing population of Easton as a means of cherishing and protecting the very essence of what their neighbourhood stands for - the interdependence between generations.

INTENT

04

NARRATIVE

The Proposal The social heart of Easton lies within the four walls of the 1989 Easton Community Centre and Owen Square Park on Kilburn Street - home to several organisations such as Up Our Street, the Brigstowe HIV Charity, Raised in Easton, Cafe des Amis and Bristol Community Radio (BCfm).

This 800sqm building, situated next to the notoriously busy Bath - Bristol cycle path is said to receive up to 45,000 visits a year which consists of numerous dance classes, a nursery, a cafe and several after school activities.

‘It’s a hub for ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE in the community’ 4

“It’s a very well used building, but it’s

05

INTENT

TIRED”

4

Easton Circle In March 2020, three vital organisations within the community of Easton - namely the Easton Community Centre, Up Our Street and the Felix Road Adventure Playground will be merging to form one large body - as a means of pooling their resources together to further serve their residents in a more comprehensive and inclusive manner.

This new, larger organisation is seen as a fresh start for Easton’s community as they tackle a series of new, 21st century problems such as social isolation and global warming.

Therefore, a larger and more current community centre which caters for all members of the society would be required to help with their growing population and ambition.

Illustration showing the potential of Easton’s diverse community interacting and socialising with one another on car-free Sundays

The notion of a neighbourhood social support network for Easton originated from the pioneering efforts of the Southwark Circle in London - a social initiative designed for members of Southwark who were aged 50 and above and who often found it tough to solve small everyday problems such as fixing their mailbox or emailing their grandchildren.

NARRATIVE

Who are we designing for? 5

14,200 2,854

Residents in Easton

0 - 15 years old in Easton

Black and Minority Ethnic Group

37.9% Easton 16.0% Bristol

07

2,328

55 + years old in Easton

Main language other than English

17.5% Easton 8.5% Bristol

50%

70%

24 - 36%

9.4%

Residents feel antisocial behaviour is a local problem

Residents feel they belong to their neighbourhood

Children living in extremely low income families

Overcrowded households in the area

USERS

NARRATIVE

The newly proposed community centre would not only be an improved hub for the community of Easton to gather at, but will also look towards facilitating the foundations of ‘The Easton Circle’ - a social support network where members are encouraged to participate in a horizontal exchange of skills across all ages of the community. The community centre would therefore need to allow for several workshops and flexible spaces to be used for a wide range of activities - for example, a wood workshop, a dance studio and a computer room.

Samson (Mechanic) 45 years old

Samson’s children need help with drama class

Mohamed (Programmer) 21 years old Needs help fixing his car

Alice (Student) 16 years old

Needs help altering her prom dress

Susan (Retired tailor) 55 years old

Needs help with her computer to email her grandchildren

INTENT

08

To Filton

The Existing Context

2

1

1:2000 @ A4

0

10

30

60 1 : 2000

3

5

4

6

8 7

9

10

11 Bristol - Bath Cycle Path

12 13 To Bristol Temple Meads

Viability of Proposal

In August 2019, part of the Easton Community Centre - primarily the BCfm studio on the first floor was burnt down in a fire due to a technical problem. The new centre can therefore provide a new state-of-the-art radio station for the community.

Key 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Stapleton Road Train Station Easton Jamia Mosque Gymnastics Club Bannerman Community Academy School Sikh Temple Easton Bristol Felix Road Adventure Playground Bristol Spaceworks Parish Church of All Hallows Bristol Central Mosque Owen Square Park Easton Community Centre First Bus Group Corporate Office City Academy Bristol

Generic street view in Easton

New site

Owen Square Park

Bristol Central Mosque (reallocated to 2)

Easton Community Centre

The existing Felix Road Adventure Playground has been operating since 1972 and can accommodate for up to 200 children at any given time. The park is primarily financed via local donations and hence, is in need of an uplift to cater for its growing community.

NARRATIVE

CLIENTS The clients for this project consists of Easton Community Centre, Up Our Street, Felix Road Adventure Playground and Bristol City Council. Through the provision of this new community centre, the clients wish to address 3 key issues, namely - the rising problems of social isolation within different cultures and ages of the local community, the lack of free play space available for children living in overcrowded homes as well as to encourage and nourish the harmonious relationship between different members of the community.

Up Our Street in particular will act as the main client for this scheme as they are a non-profit local organisation specialising in delivering community development projects which advocate for the inclusion of all members of the community to create a positive change within Easton and Lawrence Hill. A series of research studies based on the needs and opinions of the residents of Easton will be carried out in February 2020 by Up Our Street and will be used to inform the design of this community centre as the project enters a designing stage.

11

CLIENTS

NARRATIVE

FUNDING Funding for the project would be sourced from a number of stakeholders which include the National Lottery Community Fund, City Funds Bristol and the sale of the existing Felix Road Adventure Playground site.

The National Lottery Community Fund has an existing relationship with Easton as it has already funded over 60 projects in the area worth over ÂŁ2,500,000 for the betterment of the community. The funding of the Easton Circle Community Centre would therefore be beneficial to the Fund as an experimentation of the viability of the scheme and if it can be used elsewhere in the country if found successful.

The City Funds Bristol aims to finance projects which create a transformative and positive change within Bristol. The proposed community centre would therefore be a favourable project in terms of this aspect as it has the potential to achieve all the key aims set out for the City Funds Bristol which include economic inclusion, community initiatives, environmental transformation as well as zero child hunger.

The money raised from the sale of the existing 2000sqm Felix Road Adventure Playground site to developers for affordable residential development purposes would help to finance the new community centre and proposed adventure playground in Owen Square Park.

FUNDING

12

2

Site

Site Plan 1:1000 @ A4

0

5

10

20 1 : 1000

BRISTOL - BATH CYCLE PATH

Residential area

Owe

PROPOSED ADVENTURE PARK n St

ree

t

Kilb

urn

Easton

PROPOSED SITE Stre

et

Road

Win

dso

r Gr ove

Key Pedestrian / Cyclist access

TRAINS TO CENTRAL BRISTOL

Vehicular access Train tracks

SITE

SITE ADVANTAGES The Bristol-Bath cycle path, which is adjacent to the site is one of the busiest routes of transportation in the vicinity. This rich corridor of wildlife, people and transport allows for a great opportunity for increased footfall across the proposed centre.

The proximity of the site to a cycle path, several residential roads and bus routes allow the site to have excellent immediate accessibility opportunities.

The nearest train station however is a 13 minute walk away which reduces long distance public transport accesibility.

Easton as a community is famous for its colourful street art and experimentation with colour in public spaces.

This feeds in well with the proposal’s notion of integrating colour and playfulness into the scheme.

SITE CONSTRAINTS Easton, in terms of its architecture remains as a challenge due to the fact that although the area is developing - a large portion of the residential houses are still run down; whilst the large public buildings have more of a utilitarian feel.

The existing townscape of Easton might prove to be a challenge to design around as the proposal would have to find a balance between the traditional Victorian architecture and that of a contemporary public building.

Easton proves to be an extremely culturally diverse neighbourhood.

Hence, any new form of proposal or building would have to be designed with appropriate respect to its surrounding context physically, culturally and spiritually.

CONSIDERATIONS

14

SITE

h

Sustainability Cy

n St

cle

Pa t

Owe

The scheme aims to investigate the viability and efficiency in using Air Source Heat Pumps to generate and store heat in ground source borehole arrays in the summer, so that the excess can be used in winter months for a cheaper, less carbon induced outcome.

ist Br

2km bore hole

ol

-B

at

reet

h

The Owen Square Community Energy Project is a communityled energy initiative by Easton Community Centre, Easton Energy Group and developers CEPRO to find an environmentally sustainable solution to supplying lowcarbon heat and power for a local community through the use of solar panels and heat pumps.

Easton Community Centre

This scheme currently supplies the energy used in the existing community centre and the mosque whilst selling any excess energy back to the grid. Hence, the proposal will aim to incorporate this cutting-edge technology to achieve a longer building life span and achieve appropriate BREEAM standards whilst keeping running costs minimal.

15

ENVIRONMENT

SITE

A large portion of children in Easton live in overcrowded homes in highly deprived situations. An adventure playground therefore has always played a vital role in Easton’s rich culture as it becomes a place of freedom and empowerment for children to experiment and experience their own ideas.

Adventure Park “There are no rules here. There is no ‘right way’ of playing. We want children to experiment and make their own rules - playing at their own will to explore and cultivate their own ideas” Eddie Playworker Felix Road Adventure Playground

ENVIRONMENT

16

SITE

SITE DRAWINGS B

A

A B

D

C

C

D

F

E E

F 17

DRAWINGS

SITE

Elevation A - A 1:1000 @ A4

Section B - B 1:1000 @ A4

Section C - C 1:1000 @ A4

Elevation D - D 1:1000 @ A4

Section E - E 1:1000 @ A4

Elevation F - F 1:1000 @ A4

DRAWINGS

18

3

Precedents

When studying community centres as a building type, it was apparent that each centre was treated as a focal point for the community it surrounded and was designed primarily based on its individual user requirements. For example, a community centre in a rural village with low literacy levels was designed to incorporate a few classrooms to help children with tutoring. The following precedents have therefore been chosen to represent a wide spectrum of what Easton’s Community Centre could accommodate.

Storey’s Field Centre and Eddington Nursery A community centre designed specifically to cater for the growing population of Eddington, with a specific emphasis on the education of young children.

SOS Children’s Villages Lavezzorio Community Centre A community centre designed specifically to help foster-care families within the neighbourhood feel more welcomed and supported. The centre is fully equipped with treatment and counselling rooms that lead in from socially interactive spaces.

The New Generation Youth and Community Centre A community centre designed specifically for troubled teenagers and youth in Lewisham - to encourage positive interactions between members of the community .

Rehovot Community Centre A community centre designed specifically to address the importance of education in Israel.

The scheme incorporates a large library leading off the main street to encourage the public to walk across the scheme and be drawn in

PRECEDENTS

Storey’s Field Centre and Eddington Nursery Architects: MUMA Area: 2,726 sqm Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom Building Type: Community Centre and Nursery

Key

Breakdown Activity spaces

15.0%

Services and admin

13.5%

Offices

2.8% 36.0%

Play space and garden

19

SPATIAL

Circulation and interaction

17.0%

Nursery

15.7%

PRECEDENTS

The building is primarily split into two parts to meet user requirements in terms of privacy Community centre opens out to public Courtyard creates safe space for child play

Community centre (blue) and nursery (red) External faรงades are decorated with interactive shapes such as sunburst patterned glass and moon windows

Internal spaces are designed to be adaptable and accommodate for multiple uses

SPATIAL

20

PRECEDENTS

SOS Children’s Villages Lavezzorio Community Centre Architects: Studio Gang Area: 1,486 sqm Location: Chicago, USA Building Type: Community Centre

Ground floor

First floor

Key

Breakdown Activity spaces Services and admin

17.7%

Offices

10.5% 8.4% 9.5%

Play space and garden

31.0%

Circulation and interaction Nursery

21

SPATIAL

22.9%

PRECEDENTS

Facade made entirely from locally donated materials

Interactive breakout spaces

Bright nursery interiors

Although the SOS Children’s Villages Lavezzorio Community Centre responds extremely well to its surroundings in terms of its facade and intent, there are several design decisions - mainly affecting the level of noise and the placement of several spaces which may be an indication of things to consider when designing Easton’s community centre (which sits on a very similar site)

Noise from train tracks nearby affect counselling rooms

Nursery faces main road

Minimal outdoor play space

SPATIAL

22

PRECEDENTS

The New Generation Youth and Community Centre Architects: RCKa Area: 1,200 sqm Location: Lewisham, London Building Type: Community Centre

Key

Breakdown Activity spaces Services and admin Offices Play space and garden Circulation and interaction

23

SPATIAL

50.0% 12.0% 14.0% 15.0% 9.0%

PRECEDENTS

Multi-purpose space looks over park

Triple height winter garden acts as a thermal, physical and noise buffer between multi-purpose spaces and outdoor courts

Dramatic triple height central space designed to be observed from all parts of the building for a sense of inclusion

SPATIAL

24

PRECEDENTS

Rehovot Community Centre Architects: Kimmel Eshkolot Architects Area: 1,210 sqm Location: Rehovot, Israel Building Type: Community Centre

Key

Breakdown Activity spaces Services and admin Offices Circulation and interaction Nursery

25

SPATIAL

56.0% 10.9% 9.0% 19.6% 4.5%

PRECEDENTS

New shortcut through proposal encourages footfall across community centre and library

Design allows for multiple interactions across various floors due to split levels

Bright colours used around frames to create a lighter environment

SPATIAL

26

1

2 1 2 3

Reuse of scrap components and materials Integration of adventure play equipment and nature Use of colour in a natural setting

City Museum Urban Playground, St Louis, USA Treehouse Adventure Park, Colorado, USA Ecology of Colour, Kent, UK by Studio Weave

3

PRECEDENTS

Use of everyday material and ideas to form key elements of his proposals

by Peter Hubner

Incorporation of bright, contemporary architecture in a traditional Victorian setting by alma-nac

CONTEXTUAL

28

4

Proposal

Precedent analysis

Storey’s

SOS

TNGY

Rehovot

Proposal

Weekday

Weekend

Bank holiday

School holiday

Proposal

Predicted timetable

Tim Martin Breadmaker East Bristol Bakery

“We moved here and I have lived in neighbourhoods in Paris and London before, and this is by far the nicest” 6

PROPOSAL

Proposed Schedule of Accommodation

Site area: 8,570 sqm Usable site area: 2,320 sqm Proposed area

29

SOA

Breakdown

Outdoor adventure park

1,500 sqm

Indoor play space Large multipurpose Small multipurpose Community workshop Kitchen Cafe

150 sqm 350 sqm 100 sqm x 3 50 sqm x 2 50 sqm 70 sqm

WC Storage Plant / Tech Refuse Archive Cleaner’s cupboard

75 sqm 60 sqm 200 sqm 20 sqm 15 sqm 15 sqm

Playworker office Admin office Organisation office Meeting room / hire Radio studio

10 sqm 30 sqm 20 sqm x 3 20 sqm x 2 30 sqm

Foyer / Breakout space

200 sqm

Classroom Milk kitchen Nappy room Children’s WC

96 sqm 8 sqm 9 sqm 12sqm

Indoor total

1,900 sqm

53.7%

Activity spaces

20.3%

Services and admin

8.9% 10.5% 6.6%

Offices Circulation and interaction Nursery

Costs Indoor community centre Cost per sqm: £ 2,500 Total area: 1,900 sqm Total cost: £ 4,750,000 Adventure park Cost per sqm: £ 150 Total area: 1,500 sqm Total cost: £ 225,000 Total build cost: £4,975,000

PROPOSAL

Adjacencies Service entrance

Storage Refuse

Cafe

Community kitchen

Cleaner WC

Archive Meeting room

Community workshop

Meeting room

Outdoor adventure park

Organisation

Foyer / Breakout space Organisation

Organisation

Community workshop

Community workshop

Small multi purpose

Small multi purpose

Radio station

WC

Admin Owen Street Energy Centre Indoor play space

Play worker

Large multipurpose Plant

Indoor courtyard Nappy room

Small multipurpose

Classroom

Children WC

Storage

Milk kitchen

Entrance

Entrance

Entrance

ADJACENCIES

30

CONCLUSION

LET’S RECAP

What do you want your building to be to the nation?

To be a conversation starter about the importance of interdependent living within a community.

We live in a world where social interactions are becoming more of an option rather than a necessity as technology advancements cater for in-house delivering to every extent - be it groceries, shoes or even education. Therefore, I want my proposal to emphasise the importance of human interactions and the benefits one may gain from dependent living between different members of a community.

The design of a community based social network which capitalises on the horizontal exchange of skills and interactions between members can therefore be used as a national example that advocates for the benefits of inter-generational interactions.

What is your building going to add to the ‘local’ environment in which it is located?

My proposal will aim to be the new focal point of Easton’s diverse and rapidly growing community as it forms a new social hub for the various smaller communities surrounding it. The addition of a new adventure park and an inter-generational social network whilst being home to the newly formed local organisation - consisting of 3 of Easton’s most socially important institutions will create a vibrant place to gather, socialise, interact and learn.

I want my proposal to be a place where the people of Easton can come and feel a sense of belonging, where no one is excluded - be it rich or poor, Sikh or Christian, newborn or retired.

CONCLUSION

What is your building going to do for the external spaces immediately around it?

My proposal will be a fluid transition between the existing Bath-Bristol Cycle Path, Owen Square Park and Kilburn Street. I want to encourage foot traffic and movement from the cycle path towards Easton Road – drawing people from Bath and Bristol towards the vibrant ward of Easton and opening up the park to create more active zones.

What is your building going to be in terms of its detail?

My proposal will aim to be colourful, vibrant and active - engaging children, adults and the elderly.

Each space within the proposal will be carefully designed given the different uses of the space in mind - allocating the right service systems and sustainability requirements.

‘‘

The vibrant building on Kilburn Street ... is badly in need of investment after years of neglect to become the centre the community deserves Ellie Pipe, Bristol24/7 4

References 1

The Objective 2 Programme aims to promote the economic and social convergence of areas facing structural difficulties and targets areas undergoing socio-economic change in the industrial and service sectors, declining rural areas, urban areas in difficulty and depressed areas dependent upon fisheries.

2

New Deal for Communities. New Deal for Communities is a regeneration programme led by the government of the United Kingdom for some of the England’s most deprived neighbourhoods.

3

Jones, S., 2019. Easton: Bristol’s Coolest Neighbourhood [Online]. London: Time Out. Available from: https://www.timeout.com/bristol/things-to-do/easton-bristol-guideo

4

Pipe, E., 2019. ‘It’s a hub for absolutely everyone in the community’ [Online]. Bristol: Bristol 24/7. Available from: https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/its-a-hub-for-absolutely-everyone-in-thecommunity/

5

Bristol City Council, 2019. Easton Statistical Ward Profile 2019. Bristol: Bristol City Council.

6

Maggs, N., 2019. Why Time Out was right about coolest places in the world Easton [Online]. Bristol: BristolLive. Available from: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/time-out-right-coolestplace-3343608

Bibliography 1

Awan, N., Schneider, T. & Till, J., 2013. Spatial Agency & Other Ways of Doing Architecture. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

2

Bristol City Council, 2019. Easton Statistical Ward Profile 2019. Bristol: Bristol City Council.

3

Heseltine, P. & Holborn, J., 1987. Playgrounds : the planning, design and construction of play environments. London: Mitchell.

4

Jones, S., 2019. Easton: Bristol’s Coolest Neighbourhood [Online]. London: Time Out. Available from: https://www.timeout.com/bristol/things-to-do/easton-bristol-guideo

5

Koolhaas, R. and Mau, B., 1995. Small, medium, large, extra-large : Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

New York: Monacelli.

6

Maggs, N., 2019. Why Time Out was right about coolest places in the world Easton [Online]. Bristol: BristolLive. Available from: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/time-out-right-coolestplace-3343608

7

Pipe, E., 2019. ‘It’s a hub for absolutely everyone in the community’ [Online]. Bristol: Bristol 24/7. Available from: https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/its-a-hub-for-absolutely-everyone-in-thecommunity/

*This report was curated purely for educational purposes only and the views or opinions expressed in this report are of the authors and not the organisations named within*

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