Client:  Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, Iraq

Collaborators: Dar Al-Imara, Baghdad

Description:

As part of our work on the urban renewal plan we prepared a number of pilot projects for Kufa City Centre.  One of the earliest mosques in Islam is located in Kufa – the Great Mosque dating from the 7th century.

The work formed as part of the detailed studies for the project and presented in a separate volume of wall display sheets for public consultation.

There were two key pilot projects to demonstrate how new housing could be implemented, in addition to the renewal of housing with the city centre which was designated as a conservation area.

The housing sites within the city centre were chosen to be relatively small interventions, chiefly here better access was required and the urban fabric could be then repaired. The new subdivisions respected the existing pattern of plots.

Project:  Chhattisgarh Capital City Residential Design

Client:  Chhattisgarh Capital Project Administration

Acknowledgments: Barbara Hartley at WS Atkins International & Co

Description:

We were asked to prepare a full master plan with detailed studies for the state government of Chhattisgarh.   This built upon our earlier work in this limited competition and focussed on preparing an urban structure plan supported by local planning studies.

Our urban structure plan was based on a flexible grid arrangement adapted to the topography of the designated area.  It provided a central business district and administrative quarter linked by a light rail system to Raipur, as well as an upgraded regional road structure.

We prepared detailed studies for the proposed residential districts of the new city based on a sector and neighbourhood structure.  Particular care was taken to integrate the various forms of slow-moving transport on Indian roads, and to provide a focal point for each neighbourhood.

Project:  Kut City Master Plan Pilot Projects

Client:  Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works and Wasit Provincial Council, Iraq

Collaborators: Iraqi Planners Group

Description:

The new master plan for the provincial capital of Kut was a comprehensive commission with Iraqi associates and was undertaken in six phases. In order to demonstrate how the master plan could be implemented, a series of detailed studies were requested.  These covered key sites for which the client wanted specific and inspirational proposals.

The work formed as part of the detailed studies for the project and presented in a separate volume of wall display sheets for public consultation.

There were two key pilot projects to demonstrate how new housing could be implemented, in addition to the renewal of housing with the city centre which was designated as a conservation area.

The housing sites within the city centre were chosen to be relatively small interventions, chiefly here better access was required and the urban fabric could be then repaired. The new subdivisions respected the existing pattern of plots.

Pilot projects were commissioned for key sites in the new master plan.  These included expansion of the university, a new business quarter and a cultural centre, as well as sites for 5-star hotels and new housing.

In addition, we prepared proposals in a variety of media for waterfront sites to be transformed into public parks, including a major regional park for the province and for a Botanic Garden serving the region.

Project:  Former Baliol School Site Master Plan

Client:  Confidential

Description:

We were commissioned to prepare a master plan and detailed proposals for a former special school site on the edge of Sedbergh.  This was a site identified for business and allied development in the local plan.

The former school building is of historic interest, but internal changes over the years has meant it was not considered for listing by Historic England. Nevertheless, our clients wanted to retain the building and make the best use for it as apartments.

We carried out extensive historic research into the building and its owners to inform our proposals. The former Baliol special school was operated by North Yorkshire County Council until it was moved to a new site near Harrogate making the building and grounds redundant. 

The house was built by Herbert Newsome Baxter in 1897 who saw service as a soldier in the Boer War and WWI before he lived in Canada and was died in Winnipeg.

We studied conversion of the house into several options for apartments, including the handling of car parking on the wooded site.  A new building was designed to help create a courtyard with the existing house.

The former playing field alongside the site entrance was found to be ideal for a 36-room special care home which is considered highly desirable for the town.

Project:  Nasiriyah Euphrates Waterfront Detailed Study, Iraq

Client:  Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, Iraq

Collaborators: Iraqi Planners Group

We were asked to carry out detailed studies as part of the major Nasiriyah City Master Plan, including the Euphrates waterfront.  These studies included planning policies that expanded on master plan policies at the strategic level and proposals for key development projects.

The Euphrates River is Nasiriyah’s most important natural feature and provides the city with enormous potential.  The Master Plan proposes that the whole of the river frontage should be fully accessible as part of the public realm, and that no part should be in private ownership.  Cultural, leisure and commercial activities have been integrated along a waterfront pedestrian route.

The purpose of the detailed study was to provide a development framework to ensure a comprehensive approach to the regeneration of the waterfront and to secure the highest design quality.  We applied our master plan policies to coordinate public realm and infrastructure improvements with investment.

For the most part this can be achieved naturally by means of appropriate soft landscaping along the corniche and waterfront parks extending the greenway theme of the overall city master plan.

We identified a number of development sites linked by a linear parkway along both sides of the river with landscaped car parking areas at regular and convenient locations.  Urban design proposals were provided for these sites supported by artistic illustrations of how we envisaged them.

Project:  Morecambe Urban Design Appraisal

Client:  Lancaster City Council

Description:

Morecambe is a much-loved seaside town which is being regenerated under the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Townscape Heritage Initiative. We were commissioned by the City Council to produce a set of urban design visualisations to support their successful bid for Stage 2 HLF funding. This involved carrying out an urban design appraisal of the study area.

We carried out a series of urban design appraisals in order to understand how the study area related to its urban context. The key studies were Legibility and Visual Analysis or Townscape for which we employed the classic techniques of Kevin Lynch and Gordon Cullen, respectively. 

The latter included a serial vision sequence and identification of features that contributed to the distinctiveness of ‘place’, such as enclosed areas with ‘ambience’ and particular views.

Having understood the structure and identified issues with the urban fabric we were able to prepare an urban design concept.  This formed the basis for our visualisations of opportunities for public realm improvement in the conservation area.