1st slide - slogan and concept?
2 - strong pedestrian promenade along south bank - established arts quarter on national (+international?) level, but...
[pics of south bank and tate looking nice]
3 - does not reach back beyond Southwark Road [diagram showing road as barrier to ped movement]
4 - elephant and castle is a dump [matts eyesoreit]...but
5 - elephant and castle regeneration to the south will create a destination for shopping etc - new s london hub [pic of e+c mplan] less car focused now
6 - need to create north-south ped links betweeen south bank and elephant [map with arrows pointing up+down]
7 - make the area permeable - percolating the culture down from s bank
8 - bad points of southwark - not legible
9 - bad points of southwark - car parks and industry blight
8 - good existing features of southwark triangle - the cut - vibrancy etc.
9 - good existing features of southwark triangle - borough park - historical character
10 - good existing features of southwark triangle - railway arches - good for conversion into studios/cafes/bars ec.
11 - link up these features to creaste north south routes - clusters and (forgotten other word)
12 -arts quarter - careful not to be contrived- should be enabled not forced - create conditions so artists want to move there and visitors will want to come too
13 - could use street markets to draw people down - more cafes + shops
14 - pedestrianisation of certain streets
15 - blackfriars road important spine to triangle (maybe this needs to come earlierr)
16
17.........................etc.
Monday, 29 January 2007
Thursday, 25 January 2007
Eyesoreit 2
Its not very funny but I don't have many photos yet!
Good meeting last night and cheers Matt for posting it all up on the blog. I think the percolating concept is spot on, it just needs a little bit of refining grammar-wise so it doesnt sound too poncey. I also think the diagram you've done shows the jist, perhaps we just need to (again) refine and make it look bold and slick like a logo.
Good meeting last night and cheers Matt for posting it all up on the blog. I think the percolating concept is spot on, it just needs a little bit of refining grammar-wise so it doesnt sound too poncey. I also think the diagram you've done shows the jist, perhaps we just need to (again) refine and make it look bold and slick like a logo.
Matt: Rough Sketches for 'Concept Diagram'
I had a go at this before we sat down together, put I've only just got around to posting them. They're only rough sketches and I'm sure we can do much better, particularly as none of these work with 'The Arts Percolator' (if that's what we end up with). How about a picture of a Kenco coffee filter paper with the Mona Lisa sticking out of the top? I'm sure you'll agree that's a sure fire winner! 
Matt: Notes from our meeting on the evening of the 24th Jan
Here’s the notes from yesterday evening’s meeting (24/01). We looked at finalising the site boundaries (and, Pete, I think you’re going to post an image of that), the slogan and concept diagram, and the SWOT analysis.
Slogan/Concept
I think we agreed that we might not have arrived at a final idea (be good to hear what you think, Marie-Therese) but we left the pub having decided that ‘The Arts Percolator’ was the best we’d come up with! The idea behind this was that the site is an upside down triangle (a bit like a coffee filter) with the art (The South Bank) sitting on the top. Our concept was to change the site in such a way that the art (the coffee!) filters down through the site to the Elephant and Castle at the tip of the triangle.
Admittedly, this might need a bit of work, but I think ‘percolate’ is a great word to hold the concept together:
Percolate
Verb (used with object)
1.) To cause (a liquid) to pass through a porous body; filter.
2.) Of a liquid) to filter through; permeate.
3.) To brew (coffee) in a percolator.
Verb (used without object)
1.) To pass through a porous substance; filter; ooze; seep; trickle
2.) To become percolated: The coffee is starting to percolate.
3.) To become active, lively, or spirited.
Other words that came up were: strand, veins, capillaries, blood, heart, arteries, synergy, seeds, web, triangle, clusters, conduits, chemistry and nodes.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
1.) River frontage
2.) Facilities on the South Bank: there’s already an arts quarter of sorts on part of the site
3.) Many areas have character: narrow streets around Waterloo, Borough has its Dickensian moments
4.) Rich variety of architecture
5.) Street hierarchy: many areas are ripe for pedestrianization
6.) Very good transport links
Weaknesses
1.) Huge amount of the space used for car-parking
2.) There’s a lot of light-industry/business parks in the area
3.) A number of unsympathetic modern developments have eroded some of the areas character
4.) The site is ‘sliced’ up by a number of major roads
5.) In much of the site (esp. Elephant and Castle) cars are given priority over pedestrians
6.) No North – South pedestrian routes
7.) The South Bank has ‘its back turned’ on the rest of the area
8.) The space is illegible: few landmarks
Opportunities
1.) To have the South Bank focus on both the river and back into Southwark
2.) Many areas look like they could be pedestrianised without too much inconvenience
3.) To create links between existing facilities (starting at the South Bank) and planned Elephant and Castle redevelopment that will cut through and invigorate the site.
Threats
1.) Commercial redevelopment (‘luxury flats’) monopolising the riverfront
2.) Is the idea of an arts quarter a contrivance: how to plan something that should be stimulated to grow organically?
Slogan/Concept
I think we agreed that we might not have arrived at a final idea (be good to hear what you think, Marie-Therese) but we left the pub having decided that ‘The Arts Percolator’ was the best we’d come up with! The idea behind this was that the site is an upside down triangle (a bit like a coffee filter) with the art (The South Bank) sitting on the top. Our concept was to change the site in such a way that the art (the coffee!) filters down through the site to the Elephant and Castle at the tip of the triangle.
Admittedly, this might need a bit of work, but I think ‘percolate’ is a great word to hold the concept together:
Percolate
Verb (used with object)
1.) To cause (a liquid) to pass through a porous body; filter.
2.) Of a liquid) to filter through; permeate.
3.) To brew (coffee) in a percolator.
Verb (used without object)
1.) To pass through a porous substance; filter; ooze; seep; trickle
2.) To become percolated: The coffee is starting to percolate.
3.) To become active, lively, or spirited.
Other words that came up were: strand, veins, capillaries, blood, heart, arteries, synergy, seeds, web, triangle, clusters, conduits, chemistry and nodes.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
1.) River frontage
2.) Facilities on the South Bank: there’s already an arts quarter of sorts on part of the site
3.) Many areas have character: narrow streets around Waterloo, Borough has its Dickensian moments
4.) Rich variety of architecture
5.) Street hierarchy: many areas are ripe for pedestrianization
6.) Very good transport links
Weaknesses
1.) Huge amount of the space used for car-parking
2.) There’s a lot of light-industry/business parks in the area
3.) A number of unsympathetic modern developments have eroded some of the areas character
4.) The site is ‘sliced’ up by a number of major roads
5.) In much of the site (esp. Elephant and Castle) cars are given priority over pedestrians
6.) No North – South pedestrian routes
7.) The South Bank has ‘its back turned’ on the rest of the area
8.) The space is illegible: few landmarks
Opportunities
1.) To have the South Bank focus on both the river and back into Southwark
2.) Many areas look like they could be pedestrianised without too much inconvenience
3.) To create links between existing facilities (starting at the South Bank) and planned Elephant and Castle redevelopment that will cut through and invigorate the site.
Threats
1.) Commercial redevelopment (‘luxury flats’) monopolising the riverfront
2.) Is the idea of an arts quarter a contrivance: how to plan something that should be stimulated to grow organically?
We also discussed the idea of the space as a series of 'clusters' linked up together by a network of 'conduits'. The 'clusters' could be a market, a park, a gallery, a square. Places where people can congregate, where creative 'stuff' happens, where people can put on a performance or an exhibition.
The conduits would be the routes between them: for pedestrians, cyclists, trams? The routes would be readily identifiable as a 'conduit' and you could follow one expectantly, knowing that you're walking to somewhere interesting. Remi pointed out that this is already happening on the route between Southwark tube and the Tate Modern
Tuesday, 23 January 2007
Remi: Reflections of the sitevisit...
Printed off the OS base from digimap 1:2000 (A1), will take it with me tomorrow. Managed to take a walk on site tonight in the freezing cold. This time from elephant&castle to Southwark tube station. Unfortunately I've no photos to share... for eyesoreit. Was too dark today and didn't manage to take that bicycle ride on Sunday. Although it was a lovely weather then.
For me there are 4 charachter areas ( see below). Approaching from E&C:
1. London road ending with St Georges circus and an obelisk... apetizer for the arts quarter. There are already some bits of that feeling. Saw some red-green lightballs attached to the branches of trees.
2. Waterloo and Blackfriars roads as dense , noisy transit areas, high building front. The idea quite obvious... to provide quick access to other parts of the city.... but in between. Just take any of the smaller streets inside the block and it's like a different world. Low housing and quite irregular pattern of streets. I think perfect for pedestrianisation and arty stuff :)
3. The middle area: Southwark tube station and Waterloo East rail links crossing the area. Some higher new office buildings (London Dev. Agency for example), secondary traffic and small shops etc.
4. Area between Tate modern and railroad. Saw some garages and kind of leftover spaces which would be perfect for installations or artists workshops.
So, that's my initial responce to what I saw... Perhaps it's worth posting everything also to the blog or just use the blog?? So we'd have one place to have everything collected...
Question for Marie-Therese... How often and when do you think you'll be in London?
For me there are 4 charachter areas ( see below). Approaching from E&C:
1. London road ending with St Georges circus and an obelisk... apetizer for the arts quarter. There are already some bits of that feeling. Saw some red-green lightballs attached to the branches of trees.
2. Waterloo and Blackfriars roads as dense , noisy transit areas, high building front. The idea quite obvious... to provide quick access to other parts of the city.... but in between. Just take any of the smaller streets inside the block and it's like a different world. Low housing and quite irregular pattern of streets. I think perfect for pedestrianisation and arty stuff :)
3. The middle area: Southwark tube station and Waterloo East rail links crossing the area. Some higher new office buildings (London Dev. Agency for example), secondary traffic and small shops etc.
4. Area between Tate modern and railroad. Saw some garages and kind of leftover spaces which would be perfect for installations or artists workshops.
So, that's my initial responce to what I saw... Perhaps it's worth posting everything also to the blog or just use the blog?? So we'd have one place to have everything collected...
Question for Marie-Therese... How often and when do you think you'll be in London?
Saturday, 20 January 2007
Artsquarter area, meeting, things to do?
Walked from Southwark tube to Tate modern and here's my proposal for the site boundaries.
Next phase? As I can't attend next week, perhaps we could have a group meeting in one of the evenings next week (Monday-Wendesday) after 6pm? I know Marie-Therese probably can't attend, but whereabout are you Pete and Matt living? I understood Pete is working just across the road from my office, so perhaps we could meet either mine or Petes' work place (Farringdon tube)?
The next things to do for the 2nd of February as I understand from the brief are:
Next phase? As I can't attend next week, perhaps we could have a group meeting in one of the evenings next week (Monday-Wendesday) after 6pm? I know Marie-Therese probably can't attend, but whereabout are you Pete and Matt living? I understood Pete is working just across the road from my office, so perhaps we could meet either mine or Petes' work place (Farringdon tube)?
The next things to do for the 2nd of February as I understand from the brief are:
- Draft SWOT analysis
- Eyesoreit
- Brainstorming
- Cost plan
- Slogan
- Concept
- Sketch/Model
Thursday, 18 January 2007
There are a couple of pics taken on tuesday evening below. First impressions of the site are:
a) its massive and would take a day to cover the whole area. I managed to get around the bit between London Bridge, Union Street and Blackfriars Road.
b) the area has a very wide variety of different land uses and types of building fabric ranging from large office blocks to tight knit historical terrace streets to 1920s style local authority flats.
c) some streets would be quite easily pedestrianised as its already very lightly trafficked in part, but some kind of audit is probably needed to assess a kind of pedestrianised street network, with different levels of vehicular access (obviously some roads will need to remain primarily vehicle dominated if the scheme is to be realistic)
d) there is already quite a lot of 'arts quarter' uses from small design workshops and architects practices to larger arts institutions. It is quite easy to imagine how this area might be in some ways as there are existing examples on more micro scale that exhibit the kind of characteristics we might be looking for. Examples are, converted arches on the alleys alongside the railway viaducts, lighting projects under the bridges (with a unified theme creating a type of character area)
e)problems are dark and unwelcoming streets (security issues), problems of restricting car access (from traffic pov), large ex-industrial lots used as car parks or garages and providing no frontage or life on the street. Lack of a good mix of uses to ensure livliness at different times - there is resi, commercial and retail but it is segregated block by block -suggest live/work type accomodation, ground floor retail/studios/commercial (small scale) resi /office upstairs?
Saturday, 13 January 2007
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