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20 |t|l|I IW8 ||8IK| |z11 1ss |rzmsW1rs z11 1r1z1 1ss|1 s11ss 11|) I
key urban desgn prncp|es: best practce approach
A best practce approach
3.1 key Locuments
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ln thls part, we have drawn together a serles o 1own Ma|lng lrlnclp|es
that alm to estab|lsh the step change o where Levlzes needs to be
ln order to see ltse| as a more successu| p|ace. 1hese a|so have the
unctlon o estab|lshlng a serles o accepted deslgn crlterla agalnst
whlch the Urban Leslgn Codes have been ormu|ated and agalnst
whlch deve|opment eventua||y can be measured.
urban desgn gudance
A serles o documents have been produced by centra| goverment
and CAL. 1he reason or a short appralsa| o the more slgnlcant
documents ls to put lnto perspectlve the lmportance attrlbuted to the
hlgh qua|lty deslgn o p|aces and how thls can he|p achleve mutua||y
beneca| commercla|, envlronmenta| and socla| alms. 1he appralsa| a|so
serves to act as a reerence or urther readlng and ma|e transparent
the sources used or the compl|atlon o our 1own Ma|lng lrlnclp|es.
1he |ey documents are .
8y Lesgn: Urban desgn n the p|annng system LL1k (2000)
Urban Lesgn Compendum Lng|sh artnershps (August 2000)
8y Lesgn: 8etter |aces to |ve: A companon gude to G3
L1Lk (September 2001)
|aces, Streets and Movement: A companon gude to L832
LL1k (September 1998)
Home 7one Lesgn Gude|nes |H|L (June 2002)
1he Va|ue oI Urban Lesgn (CA8L 2001)
Creatng SuccessIu| Masterp|ans (CA8L 2004)
Lesgn Codng: 1estng ts use n Lng|and (CA8L 2005)
1he slgnlcance o these documents ls that they derlve rom
government sources or agencles and thereore provlde po|lcy support.
#ZEFTJHO6SCBO%FTJHOJOUIF1MBOOJOHTZTUFN
y Leslgn was produced by the LL1k as a repsonse to the dec|lne
ln the nature o our towns and cltles and alms to promote hlgher
standards ln urban deslgn. lt ma|es lt c|ear that lt does not set out
new po|lcy but lt ls lntended as a companlon to the llC's. ln partlcu|ar
llC 1 whlch states.
"........good deslgn shou|d be the alm o a|| those lnvo|ved ln the
deve|opment process and shou|d be encouraged everywhere......"
lt ls an lmportant document ln that lt provldes governmenta| bac|lng
to the use o Leslgn lramewor|s as a too| or ensurlng the coherent
deve|opment o a town such as Levlzes. ln addltlon, lt urther provldes
he|p ln the case o educatlng deve|opers, e|ected ocla|s and pub|lc
agencles ln how good urban deslgn can benet everybody over the
|ong term.
ln see|lng to estab|lsh better practlce wlthln the deve|opment lndustry,
the gulde sets out a serles o Urban deslgn ob|ectlves lnc|udlng Qua|lty
o the lub|lc kea|m, Lase o Movement and Leglbl|lty, a|| o whlch are
lmportant prlnclp|es o town and p|ace ma|lng.
6SCBO%FTJHO$PNQFOEJVN
1he Urban Leslgn Compendlum produced by Lng|lsh lartnershlps ln
con|unctlon wlth 1he Houslng Corporatlon, he|ps relnorce the case
or qua|lty deslgn becomlng one o the most lmportant crlterla ln
determlnlng whether a pro|ect shou|d be e|lglb|e or pub|lc undlng.
1he regeneratlon o Levlzes may at some polnt to he|p rom the pub|lc
sector ln he|plng subsldlse the costs o bul|dlngs, lnrastructure and
open spaces.
1he purpose o the Urban Leslgn Compendlum ls lmportant to |now ln
the context o Levlzes, ln that lt alms to he|p equlp pro|ect app|lcants,
undlng bodles and lnterested thlrd partles wlth guldance on achlevlng
and assesslng the qua|lty o urban deslgn ln deve|oplng and restorlng
urban areas.
1he Compendlum, ln a slml|ar veln to the ob|ectlves expressed ln
y Leslgn, hlgh|lghts a serles o Key Aspects o Urban Leslgn that
lnvo|ves Ma|lng connectlons, Mlxlng Uses and lorms, vor|lng wlth
the envlronment and Leslgnlng or Change through exlbl|lty.
1MBDFT4USFFUTBOE.PWFNFOU
1hls document, produced by the LL1k, ls a companlon gulde to L 32
kesldentla| koads and lootpaths. lt see|s to cha||enge the domlnance
o the car wlthln our towns and cltles genera||y, and begln to |oo| at
the p|ace not the car. 1o thls end, lt sees the creatlon o a sense o
p|ace, |nltted c|ose|y wlth sustalnab|e trave|, as the |ey to the uture
rather than adoptlon standards and strlngent road geometrles
5IF7BMVFPG6SCBO%FTJHO
1he document '1he va|ue o Urban Leslgn' CAL 2001 ls a |ey source
or understandlng the re|evance and added nancla| and commercla|
va|ue whlch Urban Leslgn can brlng to the commercla| envlronment
o de|lvery and lmp|ementatlon.
21 |t|l|I IW8 ||8IK| |z11 1ss |rzmsW1rs z11 1r1z1 1ss|1 s11ss 11|) I
gure 2. devlzes town centre
22 |t|l|I IW8 ||8IK| |z11 1ss |rzmsW1rs z11 1r1z1 1ss|1 s11ss 11|) I
key urban desgn prncp|es: best practce approach
3.2 1own Makng prncp|es
Centra| government and those pub|lc sector agencles lnvo|ved wlth
shaplng town centres are see|lng to emu|ate estab|lshed ldeas o
lntegrated, vlta|, vlbrant and sustalnab|e ways o urban |lvlng.
1he prlnclp|es o deve|opment that we descrlbe and l||ustrate ln
the o||owlng pages are the essentla| eatures o a successu| urban
envlronment ounded on new urbanlst thln|lng and accepted prlnclp|es
o good urban and town deslgn, documented ln government guldance
a||uded to prevlous|y. 1he essence o the approach ls to create a
ramewor| o pub|lc spaces and new deve|opment wlthln whlch a||
those who ma|e use o the p|ace can contrlbute va|ue, varlety and
lnterest.
1hese prlnclp|es provlde the under|ylng basls upon whlch a|| the
thln|lng, strateglc app|lcatlon and theme bul|dlng o the Codes or
Levlzes have been ormu|ated. lnnovatlve concepts and ldeas that
permeate through the report are slmp|y urther progresslons and
addltlons to these prlnclp|es and are lntended to e|aborate and extend
here.
achevng connectons and |nks
1he essence o the tradltlona| urban envlronment ls lntegratlon o
bul|dlngs, transport modes and pub|lc spaces, thus enab|lng lnteractlon
between peop|e ndlng themse|ves ln the same p|ace, or dlerent
reasons. lt presents the opportunlty or ace to ace exchange o
products, lnormatlon, |now|edge and money . the essence o town
and clty |lvlng.
An lntegrated grld o streets ls the most eectlve p|atorm or urban
growth. 1he grld maybe orthogona| or deormed by |oca| eatures or
deslgn, but a pattern o routes ls proven to be the most successu|
oundatlon on whlch successu| towns can grow.
1here are a number o dlerent types o routes whlch ma|e up the grld,
arranged ln an understandab|e hlerarchy. 1hese range rom strateglc
hlghways through streets to passages and ootpaths, a|| o whlch are
|l|e|y to eature to some degree ln Levlzes a|ready and whlch shou|d
be u||y lntegrated wlth the new deve|opment.
makng c|ear deve|opment b|ocks
1he b|oc| ls the co||ectlon o |and parce|s whlch slt ln between the
networ| o routes and thoroughares. 1here ls a c|ear re|atlonshlp
between the slze o the b|oc| and the graln o the networ| at the
|arger sca|e, and the deslgn o bul|dlngs and spaces at a more detal|ed
|eve|. 1hls ls crltlca| to creatlng deve|opment whlch slts easl|y wlth
the exlstlng town and wor|s wlth lt rather than belng lmposed on the
urban abrlc whlch has deve|oped lncrementa||y over tlme. 1he sca|e
and masslng o the new deve|opment wl|| be crltlca| l the de|lcate
urban graln partlcu|ar|y o the town centre ls to be malntalned. 1hls ls
especla||y app|lcab|e to the Centra| Car lar| slte.
creatng a vta| pub|c rea|m
lt ls the actlvltles whlch ta|e p|ace wlthln the physlca| abrlc o the
town whlch determlne lts vlta|lty. 1he pub|lc domaln ls made up o
a hlerarchy o dlerent spaces and p|aces whlch genera||y perorm
dlerent unctlons or dlerent peop|e, but overa|| wor|lng ln an
lntegrated and comp|ementary way.
Clvlc spaces and squares are used varlous|y or estlva| and ce|ebratlon,
as a mar|etp|ace and theatre, or re|axatlon and or meetlng others. ln
deslgnlng new pub|lc spaces lt ls lmperatlve that a |arge proportlon o
space ls pub|lc and ls ree|y aval|ab|e, at a|| tlmes, to a|| users. Ater clvlc
spaces, the networ| o routes and streets provldes the most substantla|
part o the pub|lc domaln.
1hese are thereore the |ey to vlta|lty and vlbrancy o the deve|opments
and o the wlder town-centre and they are descrlbed and characterlzed
by the qua|ltles o the bul|dlngs whlch enc|ose and dene them. At
Statlon koad the streets wl|| orm the basls o the pub|lc rea|m and at
Centra| Car lar| thls wl|| be ormed by the pedestrlan a||eyways and
the new pub|lc space.
ensurng |egb|ty
1he cholce and varlety that a connected networ| provldes ls best
en|oyed l lt ls posslb|e to 'understand' lt and to easl|y deduce the
dlrectlon ln whlch actlvlty maybe ound. A townscape not on|y needs
a hlgh |eve| o connectlvlty lt a|so needs to be |eglb|e.
ln terms o |eglbl|lty, the wor| o Kevln Lynch ln hls boo| 1he lmage o
the Clty (1960), ls stl|| re|evant today. He ldentles |ey eatures whlch
are easl|y seen to he|p our understandlng o a town or clty. 1hese are
paths, edges, nodes, |andmar|s and dlstrlcts.
Lened routes or paths oten p|ay the most lmportant part ln peop|e's
perceptlon o the |ayout o an urban envlronment. Clvlng a route a
strong and memorab|e character that reects lts lmportance wlthln
a hlerarchy, encourages |eglbl|lty. loca| polnts a|so p|ay an lmportant
ro|e. 1here are two |lnds.
nodes, whlch occur at the lntersectlon o lmportant paths and become
natura| p|aces or socla| lnteractlon
|andmar|s whlch are experlenced as vlsua| mar|ers and reerences
1he use o |andmar|s and nodes as lntegra| parts o the deslgn wl|| be
|ey to ensurlng that both the Centra| Car lar| and the Statlon koad
slte are easy to use and easy to nd rom other parts o the town.
vlthln urban areas the concept o dlstrlcts, character areas can asslst
ln orlentatlon at the town wlde sca|e. 1hey are oten assoclated wlth
a domlnant theme o actlvlty or |and use or a notab|e physlca| eature
or boundary.
Centra| Car lar| and Statlon koad both have dlstlnct qua|ltles and
can be useu||y characterlzed by these qua|ltles as a startlng polnt or
approaches to deslgn.
ensurng a mx oI uses
1he lntrlcacy and comp|exlty o uses apparent ln the tradltlona|
town centre ls another requlrement or the creatlon o a stlmu|atlng,
sustalnab|e and attractlve urban p|ace. A mlx o |and uses un|oc|s many
|eve|s o varlety wlthln the town. lt attracts varled peop|e or dlerent
reasons. lt requlres dlerent bul|dlng types to be |oc|ed together. lt
encourages dlerent actlvltles, at dlerent tlmes, ln the same p|ace.
Mlxed use can be created by deslgn and encouraged by ensurlng that
the bul|t abrlc ls adaptlve to changes o use over tlme. 1he ob|ectlve
shou|d a|ways be to maxlmlse mlxed use at the town wlde sca|e,
wlthln the nelghbourhood, wlthln the street and, wherever posslb|e,
wlthln lndlvldua| bul|dlngs.
1hls prlnclp|e app|les across the town wlth Centra| Car lar| and Statlon
koad contrlbutlng to the wlder town-wlde mlx o uses. Lnsurlng a
mlx o uses wl|| a|so app|y speclca||y to the Centra| Car lar| slte
where a range o retal| and A3 uses wl|| be expected to conso|ldate the
retal| oer but a|so to contrlbute to the deve|opment o a nlght-tlme
economy and to capture the potentla| tourlst mar|et.
23 |t|l|I IW8 ||8IK| |z11 1ss |rzmsW1rs z11 1r1z1 1ss|1 s11ss 11|) I
protectng the envronment and bo-dversty
A successu| urban envlronment must be sustalnab|e and must address
lssues o how to utl|lse and preserve the natura| envlronments and
eco-systems that exlst wlthln lt.
1hls ls addressed on two |eve|s.
On a genera| |eve|, the achlevement o good envlronmenta| deslgn
ocuses on the re|atlonshlp o |and use and transport, the enhancement
o greenspaces and the preservatlon o blo-dlverslty. 1he optlmum
approach lnvo|ves the maxlmlsatlon o natura| resources whl|e p|aclng
mlnlmum demands on the envlronment.
1he |ocatlon o houslng ln Statlon koad ls an examp|e o an lntegrated
approach to |and-use and transport whlch provldes the resldents o
thls area wlth a range o acl|ltles wlthln easy wa||lng dlstance.
1he provlslon o a wlder range o shopplng and A3 uses at Centra| Car
lar| wl|| urther conso|ldate the acl|ltles o the centre and provlde
south-aclng open space.
On a more detal|ed |eve|, so|ar deslgn, water recyc|lng and the potentla|
o earth and wlnd harnesslng ls now an lmportant part o town and
p|ace ma|lng. South-aclng bul|dlngs, natura| |lghtlng, sustalnab|e water
management, natura| heatlng systems, a|ternatlve energy sources and
mlnlmlslng waste are a|| e|ements that have been lmp|emented wlthln
urban p|aces to prevent urther envlronmenta| degradatlon.
1he detal|ed deslgn o the proposa|s or each slte wl|| provlde an
opportunlty to lnc|ude many o the above e|ements. ln partlcu|ar
the Statlon koad slte wl|| be an opportunlty to showcase sustalnab|e
bul|dlng technlques lnc|udlng south-aclng bul|dlngs deslgned to
maxlmlze passlve so|ar galn and the lnc|uslon o sustalnab|e dralnage,
heatlng and energy systems.
achevng exb|ty
Sustalnab|e urban envlronments need to be adaptab|e. 1he adaptabl|lty
o lndlvldua| bul|dlngs and pub|lc spaces ls lmportant not on|y to a||ow
or physlca| change but a|so cu|tura| and socla| changes
1he most successu| p|aces are products o growth over tlme,
shaped by and ab|e to accommodate changlng economlc condltlons,
deve|opment asplratlons and cu|tura| dlerences.
1hls prlnclp|e app|les to both o the sltes where the use o the bul|dlngs
on Centra| Car lar| may change over tlme and the extent (extenslons)
and subdlvlslon (potentla| or converslon lnto ats etc) o the houslng
on Statlon koad may a|so change over tlme.
creatng vsua| rchness and vsua| de|ght
vlslon ls the domlnant sense ln terms o our experlence o an urban
envlronment. 1he rlchness and varlety o deslgn add great|y to the
sensory experlence.
vlthln many hlstorlc urban envlronments there ls lncredlb|e rlchness
o deslgn whlch supports the case or see|lng to protect or re-
use lmportant eatures. However, lt ls lmportant to nd lnnovatlve,
contemporary, lnterestlng and cost eectlve ways to achleve vlsua|
lnterest that ls comp|ementary to thls.
lub|lc art, wlth the prlmary purpose o addlng vlsua| de|lght, ma|es a
urther and oten spectacu|ar contrlbutlon to the urban envlronment.
lub|lc art can be a ocus or actlvlty, a |andmar|, or even an ob|ect
but good pub|lc art ls a|ways consldered rom the outset o the deslgn
process and u||y lntegrated wlth the bul|dlngs, streets and spaces
rather than belng added |ater.
Llghtlng has an lmportant ro|e ln saety and securlty and can a|so
p|ay a part ln a||owlng more en|oyment o archltecture and deslgn
ater dar|, lnvarlab|y ln a more dramatlc way than ln day|lght. Llghtlng
adds vlbrancy and contrlbutes to up|ltlng or accentuatlng the lmage
o a p|ace, whl|st hlgh|lghtlng partlcu|ar archltectura| or |andscape
eatures.
ln addltlon to |ust the vlsua| de|lght o towns, the pursult o overa||
sensory rlchness - sound, touch and sme|| are lmportant parts ln the
experlence o uslng and trave||lng through urban p|aces.
1he detal|ed deslgn o both sltes shou|d reect these aspects o vlsua|
and sensory rlchness. At the Centra| Car lar| slte thls ls |l|e|y to
lnvo|ve |lghtlng to extend the appea| o the area ln con|unctlon wlth
the wlder range o evenlng and A3 uses as we|| as the u|| lntegratlon o
pub|lc art lnto the overa|| deslgn concepts or bul|dlngs and spaces.
At Statlon koad the ocus ls |l|e|y to be more on the overa|| eect
o |lghtlng or both saety and amblence wlth an emphasls on the
pedestrlan not the car.