So, as promised, here we go with a bit more information on what this is all about:
As some of you may/may not be aware, the difference between a Design Thesis and a normal design project is that a Thesis starts with a theme for research rather than a brief. Once the theme has been researched and explored and a site chosen (that happens through the research as well) a brief develops. With this in mind, welcome to Nottingham:
The above sketch of the city shows, basically, the city centre (the darker area) and it's relationships with the suburbs, especially to the north. These suburbs were once towns in their own right, distinct and separate from Nottingham City Centre, and were absorbed during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries (the time of the Industrial Revolution) as the city expanded due to manufacturing labour needs. This was a relatively common situation within the UK and can be observed in cities like Manchester, Liverpool and London. Of course, as the Industrial Revolution ended the reasons why these cities grew as quickly as they did disappeared, and the post-industrial cities were left in a state of decline, in need of regeneration.
This regeneration process is still happening today in city centres throughout the country. However, it is not just the city centres that require it, and many suburbs (which were, let us not forget, once towns with centres of their own) are still in a state of neglect.
As a starting point, this project will seek to investigate the relationships that the city of Nottingham has with its suburbs, and how developments within the city centre affect these relationships. From there I will develop a position based on my research, which will lead to site selection(s) and subsequent architectural intervention(s). This will obviously begin with quite an intensive urban study of the areas surrounding Nottingham city centre. To save time (of which I do not have much to spare) I will be focussing on the suburbs to the north of the city, which is bound rather effectively to the south by the river Trent and therefore has rather different relationships with it's outer districts in that direction.
The initial investigation will focus on the following areas (west to east):
As some of you may/may not be aware, the difference between a Design Thesis and a normal design project is that a Thesis starts with a theme for research rather than a brief. Once the theme has been researched and explored and a site chosen (that happens through the research as well) a brief develops. With this in mind, welcome to Nottingham:
The above sketch of the city shows, basically, the city centre (the darker area) and it's relationships with the suburbs, especially to the north. These suburbs were once towns in their own right, distinct and separate from Nottingham City Centre, and were absorbed during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries (the time of the Industrial Revolution) as the city expanded due to manufacturing labour needs. This was a relatively common situation within the UK and can be observed in cities like Manchester, Liverpool and London. Of course, as the Industrial Revolution ended the reasons why these cities grew as quickly as they did disappeared, and the post-industrial cities were left in a state of decline, in need of regeneration.
This regeneration process is still happening today in city centres throughout the country. However, it is not just the city centres that require it, and many suburbs (which were, let us not forget, once towns with centres of their own) are still in a state of neglect.
As a starting point, this project will seek to investigate the relationships that the city of Nottingham has with its suburbs, and how developments within the city centre affect these relationships. From there I will develop a position based on my research, which will lead to site selection(s) and subsequent architectural intervention(s). This will obviously begin with quite an intensive urban study of the areas surrounding Nottingham city centre. To save time (of which I do not have much to spare) I will be focussing on the suburbs to the north of the city, which is bound rather effectively to the south by the river Trent and therefore has rather different relationships with it's outer districts in that direction.
The initial investigation will focus on the following areas (west to east):
- Bobbers Hill/Whitemoor
- New Basford
- Old Basford
- Carrington
- Sherwood
- Mapperley
- Mapperley Park
Sketch: Nottingham city centre and it's northern suburbs
More to follow on the investigation and the first piece of work for submission soon.
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