The Design Code

It took me longer than I thought but here it is:
The Design Code covering the whole Masterplan in relation to what we want to achieve.
Apologies if I didn't involve you in this but I thought that working alone on this would make it faster and more accurate. Of course, if you find it incomplete or you want to add or change the information feel free to do it.
Once we agree on the final version it should go as a document on skype. I have the word document already structured and formatted so any other addition or change would be easy to alter and post it on skydrive afterwards.

(Mitti)

The Code sets out both mandatory and advisory rules that ensure the vision of the masterplan is implemented.

It is intended to provide greater certainty to developers, designers and the local community as to the quality and character of individual parcels and their connections to the rest of the development and the greater context in acknowledging the likely development timescale.

The code must allow for a level of flexibility in order to respond to the changing local needs, market, regulatory and planning conditions over time. It is recognised that it may need to be updated over time to reflect these changes.

The result of this consultation/agreement process is an Illustrative Masterplan which demonstrates how the application of the Strategic Design Codes and Outline Development Plan can come together to produce a coherent physical, economic, social and environmental design for the neighbourhood.

The Strategic Design Code and Development Plan are aimed at delivering the key development principles for the project.

These have been developed in response to the vision for the area as set out in the Masterplan.

Design Principles

The following key design principles have been established:

v  Use & Amount

v  Layout

v  Scale

v  Landscape

v  Appearance

v  Access

v  Sustainability & Energy

Use and Amount

1.    Appropriate and Sustainable Mix

1.1. Use types and amounts which reflect a mix of factors including planning policies, local aspirations and market emands.

2.    Contextual Response

2.1. Disposition of the uses and amount in response to the surrounding context and the nature of each Character Area as set out in the next section.

3.    Residential-led Mixed Use Development

3.1. Create new neighbourhoods with a variety of complimentary uses which meets the needs of both short-term visitors and long-term residents;

3.2. Provide a mix of uses, both horizontally across the site and vertically across buildings, that reflects the transition cross the site from pubic, vibrant quayside to residential zones.

4.    Public Realm

4.1. Provide specific uses which reinforce the nature and enhance the quality of the public realm;

4.2. Active quayside that incorporates retails and tourist attractions;

4.3. A residential heart at the centre of the new neighbourhoods with residential frontages.

5.    Flexibility

5.1. Provide plot and block layouts which allow for flexibility in use over time;

5.2. Flexibility specifically at ground level along key public spaces and main routes.

6.    Housing Mix

6.1. Provide an appropriate mix of housing types, tenure and sizes that caters for local needs, including an appropriate amount of wheelchair accessible homes and affordable housing;

6.2. Provide housing that responds in type, scale and density to the nature of its character area;

6.3. Homes that meet appropriate sustainability standards.

Design Principles: Layout

1.    Masterplan Grid

1.1. Provide clear and legible structure that integrates the link roads;

1.2. Provide clear and strong connections within and beyond the masterplan;

1.3. Create plot structure which corresponds to the masterplan grid and key routes;

1.4. Establish a logical scale of plots that reflects the use and amount disposition within the masterplan.

2.    Character Area

2.1. Create character areas that reflect the varied vision and relationship with the immediate context;

2.2. Provide clear identity to each character area while maintaining a cohesive approach to the overall masterplan.

3.    Linked Spaces

3.1. Provide a hierarchy of streets which are clearly legible;

3.2. Provide routes that are pedestrian and cyclist-friendly and help define the nature of the spaces and uses along them.

4.    Place-making

4.1. Create places with identity that reflect the importance of their locations, through placement of key buildings and treatment of building frontages;

4.2. Create well-defined public spaces within the masterplan which link into the pedestrian network;

4.3. Allow for appropriate layout and relationship between different uses so they do not compromise one another.

5.    Residential Quality

5.1. Design homes of high quality;

5.2. Create quality residential environments through block layouts that ensure appropriate levels of privacy and access to daylight;

5.3. Create clear boundaries between public and private spaces.

6.    Safe and Secure Environment

6.1. Provide well defined routes, spaces and entrances that provide for convenient movement without compromising security;

6.2. Structure the layout so that different uses do not cause conflict;

6.3. Place specific uses to introduce a level of activity which is appropriate to their locations;

6.4. Ensure all publicly accessible spaces are overlooked.

1.    Design Principles: Scale

2.    Contextual Response

2.1. Create massing that reflects the varied vision and relationship with the immediate context.

3.    Defining Public Realm

3.1. Create a massing strategy that reinforces the significance and legibility of the public realm

3.2. Create a strong edge to the new link road, establishing the wider significance of this link and marking the boundary of the neighbourhood.

4.    Appropriate Scale in Use Terms

4.1. Appropriate scale to create buildings and public realm fit for their purpose.

5.    Appropriate Density Distribution

5.1. Ensure appropriate distribution of housing numbers, type, tenure and density that responds to the nature of the character area and surroundings.

6.    Creating Accents and Focuses

6.1. Create identity for the development through the use of taller/ landmark structures at key points within the masterplan, which is complementary to the new bridge; and

6.2. Mark the development gateways and other key focal points with buildings of appropriate scale.

7.    Varied Roofscape

7.1. Create a variety of storey heights that provides visual interest.

1.    Design Principles: Access

2.    Permeability

2.1. Public routes through the site with a permeable and a flexible network that different people can use in different ways.

3.    Appropriate Scale in Use Terms

3.1. Promote movement that is not restricted to the boundaries of the sites;

3.2. Improved links with the surrounding areas;

3.3. Links into existing streets and places to provide an appropriate degree of permeability and create direct routes for walking and cycling.

4.    Appropriate Density Distribution

4.1. A combined consideration for car-based and non-car movement as an integrated approach that fosters a modal shift to greener and more sustainable modes of transport;

4.2. A pleasant and convenient environment for walking and cycling and good public transport.

5.    Inclusive Place-making

5.1. A humane streetscape which is conducive to walking and cycling;

5.2. Places are connected with safe routes which are well overlooked;

5.3. Welcoming with no disabling barriers that might exclude some people.

6.    Shared Routes

6.1. Routes are shared instead of segregated to create safer places;

6.2. Where there is an area of shared space, for example in the mews street, there will be clearly designated ‘safe space’ areas for pedestrian use.

Design Principles: Sustainability & Energy

1.    Water

1.1. Minimise the use and disposal of water

2.    Waste and Energy in Construction

2.1. Reduce waste and energy through all phases of the project.

3.    Materials

3.1. Ensure whole life environmental impacts are considered when specifying materials and construction techniques.

4.    Waste

4.1. Adopt a Reduce, Reuse, Recycling approach to waste management across the development.

5.    Transport and Movement

5.1. Encourage the use of low carbon modes of transport across the site.

Street Types

Spatial definition should where possible be achieved with street tree planting and by applying the appropriate dimensions. Where facades of buildings lining the road are greater than 36m apart there should be provided an additional treelined pedestrian route (for example the ‘Green finger’).

Tree Species:

1.    Tree planting : semi mature London Planes (Platanus x hispanica Acerifolia (min 30-35cm girth) planted in opposite pairs at 10m intervals. Species and specification approved as part of Bridge Contract.

2.    Carpinus betulus (Hornbeam) 25-30cm girth min, specimen tree. 4 x transplant

3.    Prunus avium (Cherry) ‘Plena’ 25-30cm girth min, specimen tree. 4 x transplant.

4.    Acer platanoides spp 25-30cm girth min, specimen tree. 4 x transplant.

5.    Sorbus Aria (Whitebeam) 25-30cm girth min, specimen tree. 4 x transplant.

6.    Quercus rubra (Red Oak) 25-30cm girth

7.   

Shrub Species:

1.    Carpinus betulus

2.    Euonymus ovatus

3.    Elaeagnus commutata

4.    Prunus lauocerasus ssp

Idea for the E&C stage area. Not sure how sound the theory is - it's still a roundabout, but not as we know it, now more of an amphitheatre - public square/performance space. The red bits are 'curtains' (some kind of metal screens), and potential for grafitti walls under the bridges. Still needs a lot of working through...

There's major potential for 'dressing up' the surrounding buildings as 'scenery' - regularly changing for different shows. The shopping centre I would redevelop as mixed use - retail (covered market and 'artisan' shops - Spitalfields more than Westfield!), studio units and residential. And how about a Southwark branch of the Brixton Remakery (http://remakery.posterous.com/pages/about) - they could do the set dressing??

Trail ideas

Some more ideas for the trail - different parts of the route would be focussed around different arts. The themes are taken from the courses run by Southwark College and are linked (sometimes quite loosely) to the areas in which they are, e.g.performance on S. Bank, millinery/fashion on Hatfields (originally home to hat makers), catering with the restaurants, film next to the film studios, photography near the old Colorama photo processing building, media with the college of communication... (not too sure about floristry though!).

Historic map #2

Here's the map overlay showing the old Broad Wall route - much more prominent in 1870 than it is now, and right where we are now proposing our walking/cycle route.
(If you're having trouble working it out, it's the road down the middle with the bends in; pink is current and the overlay is the historic map)

Lend Lease proposals for E&C

Summary:

• value: £1.5bn
• due for completion: 2025
• around 2,800 new homes, new shops and restaurants.
• new parks and squares.
• Improvements to roads, public transport, pedestrian and cycle routes.
• Net zero carbon growth

Area

• 10.2 hectares
• 2,800,000 sq ft residential   [don't you just love the way we can't work out whether to be metric or imperial?!]
• 50,000 sq ft office and workspace
• 150,000 sq ft retail, community, leisure and restaurant

The scheme aims to "create a new environment serving the needs of the existing community and expanding future population, by way of an integrated approach to living, shopping, downtime and work.

"The challenge is to build on the areas strengths and overcome its challenges to create a new district of central London whilst retaining its uniquely diverse South London identity. 

"The scheme will re-establish a new public realm of squares and streets, which mirrors the old Georgian street network and reintegrates the new development with its surrounding city context. "

More info at:
http://www.lendlease.com/en/Group/Lend-Lease/EMEA/United%20Kingdom/Projects/elephant-and-castle-regeneration.aspx

What there isn't is any info on income generation. Will keep looking!

Proposed Cycle Route

The Elephant Trail!

E&C Historic Map-1879

Historic map of E&C, 1875-79.  Interesting that the major road network hasn't really changed that much so it would theoretically be quite easy to reintroduce the historic street pattern in some places.  The map is pre-tube so pedestrian flows and desire lines would be different now.

Story Board ideas

Tamasin has proposed a presentation layout which looks rather nice, following the idea of a silent movie in black and white in a power point presentation as you can all see in the emails that have been going around today.
I proposed an alternative way based on Tamasin's idea, following the same principle but presented in a more compact way. It's still Tamasin's idea though, that can still be presented in Powerpoint or PDF as we wish.

Here is my way of presenting it: Black area for image presentation and white area for  titles and text. Yes, it is a template that will be the same as it goes along through the storyboard.

Tamasin's is a power point: - first two pages only. the rest of the presentation is presented in a sequence of Black sheets containing the titles and description and the white sheets containing the images which are sketches, drawings, concepts, etc...

Choose the one you like and then we'll decide which will be our way of presenting our work as a story.

Some notes on William Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

William Whyte was an American urbanist, organisational analyst, journalist and people-watcher.  The theories set out in The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces are based on mass observation of people's behaviour in public spaces in the United States and elsewhere in the 1970s.

As he admits himself, his findings are hardly revelatory but he does highlight a number of issues which are apparently overlooked in many designs for urban plazas, squares and parks and he makes a number of straightforward recommendations for making such spaces more 'user friendly' and therefore successful:

1. Circulating and gathering - somewhat against common sense, people seem to prefer to stop, talk and sit either on or as close as possible to active circulation routes.

2. Seating - people want places to sit, so provide as much seating as possible; walls, edges of planters or water features, steps and other changes in level can all be designed to be multi-functional without much effort (in fact, Whyte's view is that it is generally more difficult to make them 'unsittable'!); chairs (with backs) are better than benches; choice is important so make seating movable if possible. Specifics - length/quantity: min. 300mm length for every 2.75m² of plaza area; width: (single-sided) min. 400mm, (double-sided) min. 760mm; height: 300-900mm

3. Sun, wind, trees, and water - provide choice of sunny or shady areas (weather permitting); try to 'borrow' light (using reflective surfaces) if the space is north facing or overshadowed; wind and drafts are usually unwelcome, so small parks enclosed on 3 sides work well; tall buildings can often cause drafts and turbulence; trees - at least 6, of good size, for a space of 450m² or 1 per 7.5m of pavement (sidewalk), ideally close to seating - to moderate climate, provide sense of enclosure, shade (in appealing patterns), etc. Water - should be accessible and not just for looking at; moving water can help to create a quiet and restful feel by masking the worst aspects of street noise.

4.  Food - food outlets (even if only 'snack shacks') will draw people to a space, as will retail units; by compressing food outlets and any related seating into a small area, people are encouraged (forced) into unplanned meetings and conversations.

4. Connectivity to the street - it has to be easy to both see and get into the space, with a subtle transition from street to plaza/park; a slight rise in level can be inviting, but no more than a metre, and never (or rarely) sunken.

5. 'Undesirables' - Whyte suggests that the measures taken to control and keep out 'undesirables' are more detrimental than the people themselves: "Places designed with distrust get what they were looking for". Public spaces should be must be accessible to the public - if they are well designed they will be used and 'owned' by people and will become self-managing.

6. Indoor spaces - connectivity to the street and reason to use the space (food and/or retail) are even more important than for outside spaces; doors need to be open!

7. Catalysts - an external stimulus - the 'spark' - that gets people talking to each other - the street performer, 'character', physical object (e.g. sculpture), sight /view, etc.

It's worth noting that the spaces discussed in the book are in business districts in larger cities with high numbers of passersby. Whilst many of the principles will apply in any space, Whyte himself acknowledges that spaces only work with people, and sometimes people make the most unlikely spaces successful.

Updated version of the concept diagram. If you think it would be better without the colour, or want to suggest any other changes let me know.

Some Christopher Alexander-isms, 'A Pattern Language – Towns, Buildings, Construction' '(1977)

Despite the age and US origins of the text, it still has significant value for our site and could assist with establishing a design framework for our concept. Alexander advocates enabling, through urban design, the potential for sub-cultures to flourish. This is in tune with our aims of enabling an arts and creative quarter to develop; the communities that we are designing for can be considered a distinctive sub-culture, with further sub-cultures within.

Our project could therefore be less about the usual urban design objectives, integration, connections, legibility etc. and more about creating a series of 'citidels'; Shoreditch, Manchester Northern Quarter, St. Ives developed because they are both distinctive and separate from their neighbouring communities. Alexander argues that the more communities become integrated with their neighbours the more they influence each other, resulting in a 'dull' lack of extremes.

How we encourage this within our own sites could be entirely down to us as individuals, moreover, a lack of coordination as we do it could be useful for creating distinctive quarters within the wider city; this seems more radical to me.

'In the heterogeneous city, people are mixed together, irrespective of their life style or culture. This seems rich. Actually it dampens all significant variety, arrests most of the possibilities for differentiation, and encourages conformity. It tends to reduce all lifestyles to a common denominator.' (p43)

Alexander argues that useful design methods for realising this goal are:

• Public squares/forums for people to come together (within their sub-culture group)
• Quality of light
• Access to soft landscape/countryside
• Enable a specialisation of work within each sub-culture – live/work, employment units etc
• Reduce vehicles moving through a community (though I think we can also use roads as effective buffers)
• Design buffers between communities that enable them to thrive in isolation – 200m at least but with meeting points where services essential to various adjacent sub-cultures can be accessed – clubs, clinics, pubs etc
• Reduce entry/exit points to individual communities – more than 200 pcus per hour reduces the quality of life for residents.
• Turn buildings away from neighbouring communities, facing into the sub-culture zone
• Distribute essential shops across neighbourhoods so they can operate autonomously
• Limit building heights to four storeys-unless dealing with major civic buildings
• Build in water – of some sort
• Open up educational centres, so that they better interact with local communities 'a market place of education'

...Tailored to the sub-culture one is designing for.

Howdah - seating?

It seems that the elephant & castle name came from the pub with the same name.  How that cameto be named is unknown but the image of the elephant & castle would have been fairly familiar, though exotic, at the time, appearing in various cultural & even architectural places.  the castle would probably have been derived from the Indian "howdah" seats.  Some examples here  got me thinking about possible inspiration for seating for our "auditorium".....
                                                
                                   

 

The latest news on plans to redevelop E&C/Heygate:http://www.building.co.uk/5032369.article?origin=bldgdailynewsletter
Should we be thinking about putting our plans forward as an alternative proposal for the area??
It would be really good if we could do someinformal community consultation...

Hester's Principles for community designed spaces

Hester argues that community participation in design and planning is paramount. It brings to the fore the social, economic, and ecological issues at stake, as well as the dreams and hopes embodied in the spaces to be redesigned. Hester describes a variety of low cost and effective tools for community participation. He emphasizes, however, that participation must be facilitated by “a view” of the desired future on the part of city officials, designers and planners. He warns that participation for its own sake can lead to a gridlock where nothing can be agreed upon, or resulting plans run against social and economic goals.

“Two irrepressible forces underlie my work: the human desire for participatory democracy and ecological limits. There are many more democracies in the world today and resource limits are more critical, complex, and misunderstood. More than any other factors, democracy and limits shape public landscape design.”

According to Hester, people seeking to design sociable neighborhoods must clarify the concept of “residents’ own” spaces, and then they must decide how to delineate those spaces. The word “own” refers to a collective, symbolic community ownership and can often apply to highly contested areas. Hester points out that spaces such as trash dumps, phone booths, secret niches, ponds and transportation corridors often emerge as “owned” in community analyses. He emphasizes that we need to understand the value of those spaces for different groups in the community, and find ways of increasing this value without losing the sense of community and identity the spaces provide. He, too, describes a process by which to delineate neighborhood spaces.

My thinking about the corridor design

Information on Design Codes

If you haven't yet found this for yourselves, here are links to some info on Design Codes:

Preparing Design Codes:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/regeneration/pdf/152675.pdf

Design Coding in Practice:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/regeneration/pdf/143795.pdf

A small checking list for using it in the process of design for individual work. This will assure we can follow a design line across the whole site - different from the design philosophy.

Our design as a SHOW

We have our stage and auditorium, our aims for our design  and beginningto get ideas on how to go about this.  Is it worth perhaps pooling some ideas on the following to inform our design?

1.      Script.  What is the story, the scenario? – What is it about?  The story could be fairly straightforward or intricate? Familiar eg. rags to riches, happy endings ( I guess we only want a happy ending… or unfamiliar.  A local story or a universal theme?

2.      Type of production : Play, musical, concert, dance.  ( A musical would combine many forms..)

3.      Style? : Wikipedia provided these:-

Naturalism : Portraying life on stage with a close attention to detail, based on observation of real life.

Realism: Portraying characters on stage that are close to real life, with realistic settings and staging.

Expressionism: Anti-realistic in seeing appearance as distorted and the truth lying within man. The outward appearance on stage can be distorted and unrealistic to portray an eternal truth.

Absurdism: Presents a perspective that all human attempts at significance are illogical. Ultimate truth is chaos with little certainty. There is no necessity that need drive us.

Modernism: A broad concept that sees art, including theatre, as detached from life in a pure way and able to reflect on life critically.

Postmodernism: There are multiple meanings, and meaning is what you create, not what is. This approach often uses other media and breaks accepted conventions and practices.

Classical: A type of theatre which relies upon imagination (and therefore limited props) to convey the setting and atmosphere of the play. Classical theatre usually contains lofty, grand prose or free verse dialogue. Good examples are the Elizabethan dramatists William Shakespeare

4.      a)  Set design,

b)      Costumes and make-up,

c)      Lighting

etc  appropriate to our show. 

The main focus of this is the stage - the Elephant – with the auditorium & aisles of course also giving the flavour and advertisement of the show in their through-ways and stopping points