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
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