In early August this year I was commissioned by FrancisKnight Art Consultants and Medway Council to identify and scope creative public realm opportunities within the strategic Chatham Placemaking Project, which is being delivered by LDA Design.
“FrancisKnight have been appointed to work with LDA DESIGN and Medway Council on the Chatham Placemaking Project and in particular producing a creative public realm strategy to enhance the proposals and to add a sense of place and purpose to the spaces.
At the heart of the Thames Gateway, only 30 miles from central London, Medway is the largest conurbation between the capital and continental Europe. A modern place with green spaces and a superb quality of life, close to breathtaking countryside, the area has a young and culturally diverse population.
Chatham is located at the heart of Medway, with a population of 264,900 people living in the urban area in 2013. The area is world famous for its historic naval dockyard, and has also been a strategic centre for trade”.
This is a short term consultancy for me, which focuses particularly on the pedestrian route between Chatham Railway Station and The Waterfront, Chatham, via Railway Street and Military Road. This route leads on towards the Historic Dockyard Chatham – which is the subject of a World Heritage Bid –
I had up till this point never been to Chatham! I know of Chatham via Dickens and Pepys – as well as having looked at the Historic Dockyards online ! I have passed through the Medway Townsmany times on the train between Ramsgate and London, which does not really help frame a complete & honest image of the town.
This is a small sample of the visual record I made of my first visit in response to the project brief –
As you leave the Station and turn left, this leads you, via Railway Street towards the Town Centre and The Waterfront – however this route is a difficult one to navigate – if you know the town, then various landmarks map this out for you, but for a visitor, the experience is confusing and not for the faint hearted. The first 100m of this route, the car is certainly King – much to the detriment (& risk) of the pedestrian!
This view looks down Railway Street towards the Town Centre with the red brick edifice of Mountbatten House dominating the centre view.
‘Heart of the Campus’ for Sheffield Hallam University has also been featured in ‘JOURNAL ARCHITEKTEN UND PLANER’with some great images. Again, this was sent over to me by Rockpanel, who have produced some pretty wonderful PR on the project – the sort of coverage I could never achieve on my own – so a big thank you to them !
My project collaboration with Rockpanel ‘Heart of the Campus’ for Sheffield Hallam UniversityCollegiate Campus has just won a CKE ‘Special Award’ at the RISE Awards – (Research, Innovation, Sustainability & Enterprise) – in Leeds on Friday 18th September. the award is for innovation, design and creativity.
A big thanks to Rockpanel & The Cutting Room CNC specialists – also to Sheffield Hallam University and Turner & Townsendfor the opportunity!
Rockpanelsent over these images of the ‘Heart of the Campus’ project featured in the August edition of FASSADE Technik Und Architektura German architectural magazine. Apologies for the poor quality of the first image !
The project was nominated by the Margate Civic Society. In 2014, the project had been awarded a Civic Award by the local group and it was on the back of this that the nomination for the Civic Voice Award was made. I attended the event with Geoff Orton of the Margate Civic Society.
This project was delivered by a large and diverse integrated design team. I think part of it’s success as a project is certainly down to the collaborative nature of the scheme and that this process was something which contributed from the outset of the works, influencing and challenging the design process at each stage.
We had our first Art Commission Phase 2 design meeting at the Whiteleaf Centre today to meet staff working in the four Wards, Opal, Sapphire, Ruby and Amber. Tom Cox of Artscapeand myself presented some first draft ideas to staff. We spread out the drawings and some paper models on the meeting room table and asked staff to comment on the work and annotate the drafts for us. This proved a rewarding process – with some of the iconography in the draft designs getting positive approval, whilst others – a definite thumbs down! –
The composite image below shows the Ward Round Rooms, which are found within each Ward Hub. This room is used for Clinical staff meetings and meetings with family and service users. We are proposing to install digitally printed wall coverings to two walls in each room.
Civic Voice shortlists 12 schemes for new design awards !
The Margate Flood & Coastal Protection Project aka ‘Margate Steps’, has been shortlisted for this new design award.
“Civic Voice – the national charity for the civic movement – has today announced its national shortlist for the best designed new development nominated by communities in the country”.
Griff Rhys Jones, Civic Voice President said:
“What I really like about the Civic Voice Design Awards is that they are national awards which have been nominated by local community organisations like civic societies, residents groups, town and parish councils and other community based voluntary organisations, rather than the industry professionals. They show that people are willing to welcome the new developments we need when they have been properly consulted and involved and where the quality of design has been of the highest standard. I look forward to meeting the award winners”
These wonderful new images of ‘Margate Steps’ were taken this week by photographer Dean Barkley, using a multi-rotor copter. Dean can be contacted on dean@barkleyimages.co.uk. There is also a short film – once I have worked out how to post that online!!!
The images clearly show the scale and impact that the Coastal Protection Project has had on the local area. The additional public realm and and amenity space that the works have provided is shaping the way that the seafront engages with the Old Town and Harbour. Even at high tide, the Old Town is accessible from the beach, which had previously not been possible. The wonderful coastal setting which has become the backdrop for the regeneration of the Harbour Arm, Custom House, Turner Contemporary, Old Town, Margate Steps and now finally Dreamland coming on stream has really made Margate magnificent once again.
I recently posted a very long set of images which formed the basis for a research & contextual study I have produced for the Bus Station Project. I have now managed to sort out how to post a link here to the actual pdf document, which you can now view with much more clarity.
This pdf is only a part of the contextual research which has been done – but forms a good basis on which to reflect upon the influences and threads of research which have caught my attention. Much more work has been done since this was completed and I hope to post more images of draft and concept drawings and sketches very soon.
The first page of the pdf looks like this image below – so you will know you are on the right tracks! Click here:
Works are progressing well on site – in fact the scheme is very much in it’s final phase of works to complete the landscape around the site.
Most of the interpretive public art elements are now installed throughout the site.
The content of many of these images you may be familiar with – but the installation is much nearer to completion with the soft landscape details really making an impact on the interpretation and public art elements. Area Landscape Architectsare responsible for the external landscape concept, design and strategy and have created a sensitive and wonderful scheme, which I have been fortunate to work within.
“Never will the nations of the earth be well governed until both sexes, as well as all parties, are fully represented and have an influence, a voice, and a hand in the enactment and administration of the law”.Anne Knight, 1847.