PLACE: Shaping for a better quality of life - TrustNews June 15
ln March a joint training project between Winchester City Council and Eastleigh Borough Council, supported by the Urban Design Group, was set up to provide Members and Officers with an insight into the way the design of the built environment needs to be considered to ensure that it enhances the quality of life. There were three sessions held over three weeks, one each for the Councils in Winchester and Eastleigh respectively and a joint session in Eastleigh to summarize results and compare lessons learned; each was organized and run with support from Feria Urbanism, a design practice based in Bournemouth. An invitation to participate was kindly extended to the City of Winchester Trust and Mary Tiles and I attended as representatives.
The Farrell Review, published in March 2014, was outlined in order to establish the principles for this training exercise. The idea of PLACE, being an acronym for Planning, Landscape, Architecture, Conservation, Engineering, was introduced and broadly discussed. It could be seen that the nature of this Review is all-encompassing as it also takes into account key themes of education and outreach skills, design quality, cultural heritage, economic benefits and built environment policy — and more besides.
Our task for the day was to apply these principles in a comprehensive analysis of an actual site in Winchester, viz. the carpark on Town Walls, oft Gordon Road. To do this we were divided into 10 groups of 5, each with a facilitator. Each of us was then designated one of the letters of PLACE to inform and direct our individual analysis of the site, and where possible assigned to a profession that took us out of our comfort zone so that we would have to think outside the box. As an aid we also received a useful booklet outlining prompts and ideas for consideration while on site. Understandably, the unexpected arrival of 60+ persons armed with clipboards, notepads and cameras proved perhaps a little unsettling for some of the residents around, and resulted in some lively but useful exchanges! (The site chosen by Eastleigh included their Police Station, the occupants of which were disinclined to allow such numbers to wander about for security reasons. This resulted in exploring an urban site greater than originally intended, though not without extra analytical possibilities from an unexpectedly extended brief.) Once the site analysis was completed we returned to the Guildhall and re-joined our groups in order to exchange our separate findings and from our assessments prepare draft design proposals for a hypothetical brief. So these could not be pre-empted on site they were distributed in a sealed envelope after our return and subsequent preparation. Large scale site plans and PLACE tabulated sheets were drawn and written upon to describe and record our proposals and reasons for suggesting chosen design possibilities. After a frenetic hour each group gave a feedback of their deliberations at the plenary session, and it was interesting to note how this collaborative approach resulted in a general consensus of creative design outcomes for redevelopment - though not without individual group emphases of certain elements, of course. It became apparent that such an inclusive, cross-disciplinary exercise would have an exchange and dialogue that could be invaluable for ensuring effective place-shaping of a communal environment.
The ‘wash up’ held in Eastleigh compared and contrasted the outcomes of both Councils’ projects and though site-differences existed the lessons well-learned complemented each other, thus endorsing the principles of a PLACE-based site analysis and the merits of this approach preceding any specific proposal. Collaboration was seen as critical, i.e. obtaining the views and insights of all PLACE professionals from the outset could prevent, for example, separate engineering concerns for traffic and highways dominating place-making and thereby leading to better design. Also in the discussion that arose from a brief period of brainstorming the lessons learned, it became clear that collaboration should include communal engagement and a dialogue with local knowledge and input from the social contexts of the wide mix of ‘players’ who make up our complex society, and that this refers back to the Farrell Review which recommended each town should have an ‘urban room’ wherein projects and planning issues can be presented and discussed enabling communal participation and contribution.
The joint PLACE enterprise proved to be a most stimulating, worthwhile and enjoyable exercise where a sense of camaraderie ensured the open and generous exchange of ideas and skills. John Hearn, urban design and major projects officer WCC, Mark Waller-Gutierrez, implementation and design manager EBC, Liz Kessler of Urban Design Group and Richard Eastham of Feria Urbanism are to be thanked and congratulated on presenting this opening salvo on PLACE shaping. May we hope for more!