Gun Quarter Redevelopment Site Appraisal & Design Proposal Victor Cheung
In September 2010, Birmingham City Council created the Big City Plan, a 20 year vision for supporting the transformation of the Birmingham City Centre into a world class city (2015). The plan is divided into seven distinctive quarters. This report introduces redevelopment proposals for a site located in the Gun Quarter located within the St George and St Chad Quarter. This area of Birmingham is changing. Historically, it was the central location of arms production and trading for England. Today, the Gun Quarter maintains a small manufacturing, engineering, warehousing, and commercial industry which is supported by 370 businesses (2015). Industry will always be at the heart of this area as it currently employs 3,500 people, but the Big City Plan has clear aspirations for the city centre to become increasingly diverse and liveable (2015). Moreover, the plan specifically identifies the St George and St Chad Quarter to increase the mixture of uses currently in the area. Overall, this indicates that the Gun Quarter will be in a state of change as the years continues. This report provides an overview and analysis of a proposed development located within the historic Gun Quarter at 72 Shadwell Street in Birmingham UK. The report emphasizes the site in relation to the Gun Quarter and further emphasizes urban design and architectural themes found throughout. Design proposals rely upon planning best practices and Birmingham City Council.
WESTSIDE AND LADYWOOD
Site Context
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Figure 1.1 (Right) Site boundaries within Historic Gun Quarter Boundaries. Figure 1.2 (top left) Site in relation to St George & St Chad Quarter from Big City Plan (2011). Figure 1.3 Gun manufacturing (Halifax, 2015)
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Westside & Ladywood
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In it’s prime, the Gun Quarter produced arms for the Napoleonic Wars and American Civil War (BBC, 2009). Unfortunately, by the 20th century, the gun manufacturing industry in Birmingham had collapsed. The collapse of the Gun Quarter was due to three primary reasons. The first was the development of Corporation Street and Inner Ring Road which segregated the district. Second, the depression of the 20s and 30s caused further degeneration of manufacturing processes in Birmingham (BBC, 2009). Globalization
has also played a of industrial uses throughout Birmingham and have no doubt influenced the current state of the district.
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The City of Birmingham was previously renown for it’s prosperous metalworking industries and extremely skilled labour. The adjacent Jewellery District and Gun Quarter were both areas of production and trade; but, what is known as the Gun Quarter today was not always a gun manufacturing district. Prior to the Gun Quarter, the area was a residential neighbourhood comprised of Georgian architectural style. These Georgian buildings were easily retrofitted into industrial uses due to their large windows, doorways, and ceiling heights which were ideal for manufacturing conditions.
SOUTHSIDE AND roleHIGHGATE in the reduction
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Figure 1.1 displays the site within the context of both current and historic boundaries. This current boundary for the Gun Quarter is bounded by Fazeley Canal to the north; Lancaster Street to the east; St Chads Queensway to the south; and Old Snow Hill/ the B4100 to the west.
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Evaluation of the Area
Paths and Edges Permeability refers to the number of alternative ways into a particular area. The number and accessibility of these pathways, such as streets, sidewalks, and subways, has fundamental implications on the success of a site. This is because sites can only be successful if they are accessible.
• Ensure future site embodies good permeability and connectivity to surrounding area; • Maintain and promote the use of active frontages throughout the site; • Reduce setbacks onto streets.
At current, the site is accessed primarily through the historic street network which is disjointed from the city centre by the Inner Ring Road (St Chads Queensway). Built in 1960, this style of infrastructure was a predominant development feature during this period in North America and Europe (Hodge, 2007). The Inner Ring Road, in combination with the A38 to the east, and the busy B4100 to the west function as both mental and physical barriers into the site. Pedestrian subways and resurfacing of some pedestrian routes (Figure 2.1 A) are a step in the right direction, but a strong focus must be made to ensure these connections are strengthen to ensure the success of the site. As well, these notions tie into the Birmingham Big City Plan which emphasizes greater pedestrian oriented design and culture (2011).
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Edges are defined as either physical or mental barriers to permeability. For example,
Recommendations:
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The current state of permeability into the site is defined by a network of roads, pedestrian subways, and a towpath that runs on the north side of the Fazeley Canal. In Figure 2.1, these paths are displayed and range in size. The thinnest lines are represent subways, towpaths, and pedestrian crosswalks. Medium arrows are vehicle right-of-ways, and mostly have sidewalks. Thick dashed lines represent large roadways which almost exclusively cater to vehicle movements. These thick dashed lines are also representative of edges.
physical barriers could include motorways, rivers, valleys, and railway corridors. On the other hand, mental barriers are those which are physically passable, but mentally dissuadable. Examples of this include a busy street or general changes in environment such as transitions from commercial to industrial.
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An evaluation and analysis of existing features in the area is an essential preliminary step towards a design solution for the site. The evaluation and analysis of the area draws upon notions from the text book Responsive Environments and notions introduced by Kevin Lynch in his book Image of the City (Lynch, 1960; McGlynn & Smith, 1985).
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Figure 2.1 Edges and Pathways into and around the site
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Nodes, Districts, and, Landmarks Nodes are focal points of interest or intersections of activity or movement. These can include train stations, pubs, or even public spaces. Within the study area, exists a combinations of nodes. Figure 3.1 E displays Snow Hill Station, a higher order transportation hub containing rail, light rail transit (LRT), and buses. The close proximity of this site to the development site provides an opportunity for greater densities regardless of specific use. Figure 3.1 B is The Bull, also pictured in Figure 3.2. The Bull is representative of a highly functional third space and node. A third place is a place which functions as a neutral social venue for people to gather;. It is often described as a place between home and work. These spaces can be public, private, or quasi-public. In this instance, The Bull is a private venue which functions as a public focal point since individuals can gather freely. Being the only third place within the immediate area, the future redevelopment of the site can benefit from including nodal uses. A third place is a place which functions as a neutral social venue for people to gather; it is often described as a place to spent between home and work. (Oldenburg, 1989). The building which the Bull is located is one of many historically listed buildings within the Gun Quarter. Architecturally, the building features a brick facade with grid windows. Districts refer to an area of common identifying character. Similar and sometimes synonymous with the notion of a neighbourhood, individuals can enter into and out of these dis-
tricts and note a distinctiveness when doing so. The site is located within the Historic Gun Quarter which is made distinctive through its general homogeneity of use, industrial, and age and style of buildings, Georgian. This is highlighted in Figure 3.1 D. It is important that the development at 72 Shadwell St build upon the existing character of the area by incorporating elements of Georgian design and industrial character. Landmarks, are identifiable objects or features which serve as a reference point in identifying and navigating spaces. At present, the only landmark within the district is St. Chad’s Cathedral (Figure 3.3).
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A strong combination of these elements provides the foundation for improved legibility. Legibility is the way which individuals read urban landscapes through way-finding. For the site to be successful, users must be able to recognize and organize the collection of mental elements such as nodes, districts, landmarks, paths, and edges in order to successfully navigate to the site (Lynch, 1960). Recommendations: • Create nodal spaces with uses and space which are compliant as third places; • Build upon existing Industrial and Georgian character of the Gun Quarter to cultivate the area as a district and a node, while increasing the overall legibility of the district
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Figure 3.1 (right) Nodes, Districts and Landmarks. Figure 3.2 (1st above) The Bull. Figure 3.3 St Chad’s Cathedral
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Current Design and Condition The Gun Quarter is almost exclusively occu- Recommendations pied by industrial uses. Most industrial uses are housed in aging Georgian buildings or • Maintain industrial character with Georbuildings with an equal emphasis on brick gian architectural highlights façades, large grid windows, and arches. • Ensure robustness of Georgian design is integrated into future layouts and buildThe Gun Quarter is architecturally defined ing types by symmetrical building types with large grid windows which are often highlighted with a ledge base. Windows generally follow the same pattern vertically and vary at the end horizontally. False roofs façades are at times present, but most buildings feature a sloping roof from a single roof-line. Many of the buildings feature large arched entrance ways which presumably allow for the movement of goods. Most buildings are between two to three stories, but exceptions apply. Many of the buildings appear to be in disrepair with broken windows, and chipped paint (Figure 4.2) Furthermore, a high level of vacancy appears to be present throughout the district (Figure 4.1). Redevelopment and retrofitting has had some influence in areas of the Gun Quarter. For example, there are student accommodations directly north of the site. Some industrial buildings have also been converted into commercial and residential uses, as highlighted in Figures 4.3, 4.4, and 4.5.
Figure 4.1 (1st above) vacant building Figure 4.2 (2st above) Chipped paint, broken windows, and false roof facade. Figure 4.3 (right, top left) example of commercial store-front below residential uses. Figure 4.4 (right, top right) converted and updated residential use. Figure 4.5 (right, bottom left) converted and updated residential use. Figure 4.6 (right, bottom right) conventional industrial design characteristics
Site Appraisal
The total floor area ratio of the site is 0.94.
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A Figure 5.1 (above 1st) Warehouse A Figure 4.2 (above 2nd) Office C
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Approximate Height
Number of Floors
Building Envelope Total Square Footage
Warehouse A
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2209.09 m²
2242.44 m²
Warehouse B
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2242.44 m²
2242.44 m²
Office C
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3 (5 including accessory)
861 m²
2583 m²
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The Office Building C is a three story structure with an accessory section extending two storey extension from the south western portion of the building. The building’s footprint is 861 m². Combining the three stories, the building is 2583 m². The office building is primarily covered with large windows around the entire building and fronts directly onto Lower Lovejoy Street and Shadwell Street. The building appears to not be in use. This is confirmed with the poor state of the paint.
Recommendations
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The site is located at 72 Shadwell Street. The site is bordered by Lower Loveday Street to the west, Shadwell Street to the south, and the Fazeley Canal to the north. The site is also accessible through William Booth Ln to the east. The lot which the site is located is approximately 7473 m² or 1.85 acres. Three buildings exist on the lot. These include two warehouses and one office. Warehouse A has a building area of 2209.09 m² and is one storey. The building is approximately 7.4 m in height. Warehouse B is 2242.44 m² and also has a single storey at 8.5 m. Both warehouses have a brick façade with no windows and do not offer any active frontages. Both warehouses are setback form the sidewalk between 5.6 m and 15 m at the farthest point from Shadwell Street.
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Design Solution
Design Consideration “The overall vision for the St George and St Chad Quarter is to retain the area’s focus for employment and industrial activity and improve the connections with the surrounding areas to enable growth of a more diverse mix of uses, including residential, to create a thriving community.” -Vision Statement for St George and St Chad Quarter, Birmingham Big City Plan (2011) Possible design options for the site must be congruent with existing vision and design frameworks developed by Birmingham City Council. Birmingham City Council has stated five key issues that must be addressed for new development and activities in the St George and St Chad Quarter (2011). This includes: • Isolation and detached position of the district from the city centre; • A lack of public spaces and attractive walking routes; • Growing pressures from an expanding student population; • How vacancy and under-utilized sites can be used to rejuvenate the area for new activities; • Continuing to support employment-generating activities.
The development proposal should also build upon the recommendations from the appraisal process. Recommendations: • Ensure future site uses designs allowing for permeability and increased connectivity to surrounding area and within the site; • Maintain and promote the use of active frontages throughout the site; • Reduce setbacks onto streets; • Create nodal spaces with uses and space which are compliant as third places; • Build upon existing Industrial and Georgian character of the Gun Quarter to cultivate the area as a district and a node, while increasing the overall legibility of the district; • Maintain industrial character and incorporate Georgian architectural highlights into designs; • Ensure robustness of Georgian design is integrated into future layouts and building types; • Include spaces for employment which are comparable to existing employment figures on the site
The Design
The redesign of the site includes the retrofit and reuse of Warehouse A and the redevelopment of Warehouse B and Office C.
Connections within and through the site are increased to optimise accessibility and permeability. This is made possible with strategic entrance ways through buildings and with the introduction of a pedestrian and cyclist bridge. The site is entirely pedestrianized. The built structures and open space on the site exhibit a high degree of robustness as a variety of uses can be located within and on these spaces. Retrofitted Warehouse A is intended to be a mixed use market with food and grocery vending being the anchor use. With this in mind, the cavernous space has the option of being transformed with little implementation hurdles. The redeveloped building on the north west of the site is five stories and incorporates a podium design to reduce shading of public spaces below. The building is designed to incorporate phasing options to increase cash flow during the redevelopment process. It will house a mix of uses including employment space and residential. Tenancy types will vary to encourage accessible living arrangements and a mixture of people of differing incomes, ages, and occupation. The areas in between the buildings function as public open spaces which can incorporate different uses at different times of the year. At current, the area contains shipping containers - which are easily reoriented for different uses.
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A: Community Anchor, Market
C: Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridge
The heart of a community revolves around food. The rational behind the retrofit of the warehouse is to incorporate an anchor use onto the site in the form of a stall styled market. This type of use is ideal for Birmingham, and for this site for a multiple reasons. First, markets naturally introduces an extremely fine grain retail front into a large structure. Second, covered public spaces are essential due to the predominance of precipitation in Birmingham. Third, the current area could be described as a minor food desert (USDA, n.d.) as the nearest substantial grocer is over 800 metres away . Furthermore, the introduction of a market would support future residential units introduced into the Quarter, as intended in the Big City Plan (2011); and it would support existing industrial uses. Over time, if demand persists, it is possible that restaurants and cafĂŠs also be introduced. The structure also features a green roof which doubles as a public open area.
The heart of the design process was to ensure connections from the site to the greater area are strengthened for pedestrians and cyclist since the area is currently severed by vehicle infrastructure. An essential element of this is building a pedestrian and cyclist bridge to connect the site directly to the canal. This has the added benefit of having cyclist and pedestrians traffic travel through the site which increases the potential for retail success. The Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium conducted pedestrians and cyclists as greater overall spenders at restaurants, cafĂŠs, and grocery stores during a period of a month compared to drivers (Clifton & Muhs, 2012).
B: Adaptive Public Use
D & E: Shading Control and Smart Density
Area B is inspired by Zzz Pods which are rent-able relaxation pods made of retrofitted shipping containers along the bank of the Seine in Paris. The placement of shipping containers on the site provides opportunities for infinite orientations. For the redevelopment, the containers will house artists studios and can incorporate live and work functionality. Importantly, the users are encouraged to produce active frontages which double as seating (Figure 7.2). As a use and structural type, the containers will function as a focal point for the public open space that already features a sense of enclosure. Furthermore, the use of shipping containers draws connections to the industrial nature of the district; in turn, adding character to the area.
With a strong desire for the site to have reduce setbacks on Shadwell Street and Lower Lovedoy Street, the structure’s height is constrained due to shading concerns on the northern side of the site. The solution to this was to implement a podium design (E) and increase density on the north corner of the site (E). The podium design has the added benefit of preventing a canyoning effect on adjacent streets and public spaces. The fifth floor of the podiumed structure is largely glass to ensure low levels of shading while still increasing the overall density of the site.
Figure 7.1 (above 1st) Borough Market London Figure 7.2 (above 2nd) Zzzs Paris
Figure 7.3 (above 1st) Bridge in Amsterdam Figure 7.4 (above 2nd) Figurative section facing north towards Loveday St
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F: Public Spaces William Whyte, an American urbanist, determined key features which delineate the success of public spaces. These include a mixture of sheltered and open spaces, sunshine, access to water, seating, and the prominence of a nodes, landmarks, or other prominent feature to focus activity around (Whyte, 1980). Inspiration for areas of public space can be found in the following. In Amsterdam, Museumplein was a highly activated public square with the central focal point being the “I Amsterdam” sculpture. Tourist in addition to locals pose and associate with the object by walking through it, climbing on it, and leaning on it. In this way, the sculpture is multifaceted in function, but always a central focal point of activity and attention. Birmingham can take inspiration from this type of sculpture.
bars spills onto the public square. Figure 7.6, taken late in the night, shows how the presence of others draws people into an area. Furthermore, an abundance of lighting and enclosure from the surrounding buildings is present. Figure 7.7 is taken directly in front of Mercat del Clot in Barcelona. The pedestrianized space shows a strong human scaled approach with street trees and a mixture of movable and fixed seating (Gehl, 2010).
Water is an important feature to urban spaces. Water has a natural allure which people gravitate towards (Whyte, 1980). In Museumplein, the fountain functions as a secondary focal point and seating, another important factor noted by Whyte. The current design proposal connects the site increases connectivity to the canal. Seating is fundamental to the activation of space as it provides both a reason to linger in a public space and the presence of other people, which is in itself a draw to public spaces (Whyte, 1980). In Plaça del Sol in Barcelona, the seating of local restaurants and
Figure 7.5 (Clockwise, starting top left) Museumplein, Amsterdam. Figure 7.6 Plaça del Sol, Barcelona. Figure 7.7 Mercat del Clot Barcelona. Figure 7.8 183 Dovercourt Road in Toronto (Pukonen, n.d.)
G: Active Frontages and Design
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Active frontages refers to the presence of activity and sights of interest present on the ground floor of buildings adjacent to streets and other public spaces. The site features a high degree of active frontages on all buildings. Figure 7.9 displays the ground floor frontage facing north east on Shadwell Street with buildings in the background shown in grey to provide a reference to scale. The ground floor of both buildings will feature similarities to 183 Dovercourt Road in Toronto, as featured in Figure 7.8. The ground floor of the retrofitted building will feature residential uses which will front onto the street without a fence. In addition to provided an active frontage for users within the public realm, this area allows for a level of personalization by tenants active frontages. The archways in the market will be open to allow unrestricted movement into the building.
Figure 7.9 North east section from Shadwell Street
Other Considerations Parking
Parking allocations on the site does not fall in conformity with current Birmingham City Council expectations. The Draft Gun Quarter Planning and Urban Design Framework from 1993 suggested a ratio of one parking spot per unit as a future aspiration. The current site proposal does not offer any parking. This is justified for a multiple reasons. First, the site is accessible and in proximity to higher order transit including LRT, BUS, and Train through Snow Hill Station. Snow Hill Station is within 450 metres from the site. Second, there are 11 parking lots within 300 metres of the site (Figure 7.91) and amble street parking throughout. If a demand for parking exist, there is the possibility for the property owners to ensure an agreement is made with nearby lots to provide a long term parking solution. Third, the site is adjacent to cycling infrastructure which has planning framework which hopes to improve the canal for pedestrians and cyclist (Bore, 2002); thus making active transportation options more feasible. As well, the cost of building parking on the site increases the cost of the redevelopment. Lastly, the growth of car sharing and co-op programs such as Car to Go may justify the addition of some allocated parking on site in the future .
Connections
Large redevelopment often features the reduction in permeability and connectivity though an area, amble public open spaces and pedestrian archways ensure the rede-
velopment is both permeable and legible to users (Figure 7.92). This has the added benefit of ensuring the development is not just a destination, but a part of everyday life. For example, users who commute or use the canal or near by Snow Hill Station can easily enter and move through the development on their way to different destinations. Furthermore, the inclusion of connections through and around the site help the public interact and connect with the historic waterfront more effectively. This was effectively done in Brindley Place in the city centre.
Implications on Density The redesign of the site makes no changes to Warehouse A/the Market. Should the demand arise, there is infill potential throughout the site. For example, open spaces containing the shipping containers can be redistributed and stacked to create additional units and overall density to the site with low implementation hurdles. The redeveloped building varies between five to one storey
depending on the location. The highest areas are north or adjacent to Lower Loverday Street. The overall height of the redeveloped building is 15.5 metres and the overall building envelope is 2222.96 m². Overall square footage the redeveloped building is 5583.7 m² while the overall square footage of the site is 4432.05. This brings the total FAR of the site to be 0.75, an overall reduction of 0.19 FAR from the original site. Although a decrease in FAR is not necessarily desirable on large redevelopment site near higher order transit and a water source, the site proposal allows for amble opportunity to increase density with slight reductions in open space or increasing the number of floors. This is especially the case in the north corner of the site as an increase in building height would not shade any adjacent properties. Instead, only a small portion of the canal would be effected.
Building
Approximate Height
Number of Floors
Building Envelope Total Square Footage
Warehouse A (Market)
7.4 m
1
2209.09 m²
2242.44 m²
5 (Varies)
2222.96 m²
5583.7 m²
Redeveloped 15.5 m Mixed Use
Figure 7.91 (top) parking within 300 metre buffer Figure 7.92 (Bottom) pedestrian and cyclist connectivity
Conclusions The design solution presented provides a basic overview of what the redevelopment of a large site in the Gun Quarter may include. The development used principles of urban design and urban planning to guide the proposal. At the heart of the design process was ensuring a high degree of robustness is integrated into the final product. The process of planning utilizes the best available knowledge in order to plan for the future, but as history has shown, in what was a previously Georgian designed residential area, not all things can be planned for. Moving forward, the specific design is not important. Instead, the principles used to guide the design process must be evaluated critically. In this instance, the Gun Quarter will still need to improve upon connections to the site and move away from automobile oriented designs. Furthermore, increasing public spaces and improving existing amenities such as the Fazeley Canal must take precedence.