Thursday 24th September –
During recent research visits to the Medway Archives & Local Studies Centre and the Royal Dockyard Library, Chatham, I had gained permission to take digital images of archive photographs, drawings and OS Maps from the collections.
I am waiting for approval to use some of the images in my documentation here, as both collections have some brilliant photographs, maps and diagrams, with which to ‘animate’ research for the project.
Thursday 10th September 2015 – A meeting at the Royal Dockyard Library, Chatham
This is my 5th visit to Chatham – and the first blue sky day ! – so I had to put this image in…
At the Dockyards I was drawn to the activity at Turks Shipyard, which is a fully working yard. The light coming through the roof and riverside doors was beautiful.
Thursday 3rd September 2015 – Medway Archives & Local Studies Centre, Stood.
I had an appointment to meet the archivist at MALSC to review their photographic collection – particularly in regard to Railway Street and Military Street. I took a number of digital images from old photographs, but will require permission to post them on the blog. Hopefully, I can do this in due course.
Old OS Maps of the area were of particular interest as these obviously mapped out – some in great detail – large areas of the site where building had been lost during ‘development’ and / or razed to the ground by fire or neglect. Again – watch this space as i hope to post these images too.
Of particular interest were the OS 1848 Board of Health Map and the 1843 Tithe Map.
Thursday 3rd September 2015 – Chatham Research Visit No 2 – A clearer vision…
Chatham is making more sense ! – the topography here is incredibly helpful in aiding navigation around the town. Geography, topography and the particular curve of the River Medway provided the strategic advantage which led to the exponential growth of the Docks and town from the early part of the 18th Century. The day today was clearer and brighter – unlike my first visit when it poured down all day – this really makes a considerable difference! Still walking as much as possible – by far the best way of getting to grips with a place – today I went as far as Strood, via Rochester and visited the Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre.
The following images again trace the pedestrian route from the Rail Station to the Waterfront.
At the centre of the image, the Viaduct with New Road can be clearly seen, as can the tower of St John’s Church and the red brick monolith of Mountbatten House on Military Street, adjacent to the new Bus Station.
“Thomas Fletcher Waghorn (1800–1850), whose statue stands in Chatham, Kent, was a postal pioneer who developed a new route from Great Britain to India. Waghorn’s route reduced the journey from 16,000 miles, via the Cape of Good Hope to 6,000 miles: from three months to between 35 and 45 days. Waghorn was born in Chatham, England, and baptised at St Mary’s Church on 16 July 1800″. Wikipedia
Interestingly, Thomas appears to be pointing the way to the Town Centre and Waterfront to pedestrians coming down from the Rail Station. Good man ! –
Architectural text and detailing on the upper stories of extant buildings along Railway Street, provide clues to the rich legacy of activity and usage in the area.
Visit 1 – Tuesday August 25th 2015 –
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 Towns many 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 University Collegiate 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 & Townsend for the opportunity!
Rockpanel sent over these images of the ‘Heart of the Campus’ project featured in the August edition of FASSADE Technik Und Architektur a German architectural magazine. Apologies for the poor quality of the first image !
At the inaugural Civic Voice Design Awards 2015 held at Central Hall, Westminster on Friday 17th July – ‘Margate Steps’ won the Public Realm Award.
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.
Thanet District Council, East Kent Engineering Partnership, Jacobs Urban Design Team, Herrington Consulting, MACH – Margate Arts Creativity Heritage.
Thursday 9th July 2015
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”
