Design Update

I've been working on the masterplan for the site (which is massive) for the last few days and have the basic spatial arrangement sorted, so now seems like a good time to post an update of the design:

General Design Principles:

• Keep vehicular access to a minimum
• Prioritise pedestrian movement, connectivity and permeability
• Respect immediate context, ensuring legibility of new scheme and forging relationships with surrounding buildings
• Ignite public spaces through a variety of uses, seating and symbiotic relationships with proposed buildings
• Ensure public spaces are predominantly open to the south, maximising favourable weather conditions in UK
• Design mixed-use buildings, ensuring a wealth of activity
• Ensure development is sustainable, both in terms of environmental impact and expected life span
• Suggest further areas for future development, depending on success/failures of current scheme

Site/Program Specific Considerations:

• Devise and apply flood strategy with respect to the River Leen, to the west of the site
• Devise and apply ground remediation strategy with respect to the old gas works
• Form relationships with the tram and train railways, in addition to surrounding buildings
• Consider relationships between 3 main design programmes (Fashion Design, Production and Presentation) as well as their respective locations on site

Bibliography
Gehl, J. (2010). Cities for People. Washington DC: Island Press.
Gehl, J. (2011). Life Between the Buildings: Using Public Space. Island Press.
Rowe, C., & Koetter, F. (1978). Collage City. London: MIT Press.
Urban Task Force. (1999). Towards an Urban Renaissance. London: HMSO.

So to briefly explain: 
The new roads (which will have to be present, providing vehicular access is still necessary even if pedestrians have priority) are kept to a minimum but still provide access to all the site. The buildings are zoned to form a barrier between the roads and the public spaces, which should have lots of southward exposure. A new pedestrian connection is formed with the allotments to the west via a footbridge, which will also serve a new tram stop. Where the cross hair symbol is is obviously a key area on the site with roads, pedestrian streets and buildings meeting. This area will function as a gateway and general focal point of activity, with the fashion design and production buildings being located immediately to either side.

The public spaces in the middle will be a mixture of hard landscaping and squares, greenery and water. They will be ignited through relationships with the buildings (cafes, shops etc) as well as outdoor seating and performance spaces.

The next stage is working all the above up at a larger scale. These plans are 1:2000 on paper, the 1:500 drawing is in progress and it rather large to scan at A1, so the next drawings that will appear on here will be a CAD plan and design sketches for individual buildings.