The objective of this exercise was to write a development brief for the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site in Shoreditch complementing

the planning guidance prepared jointly by the London Borough of Hackney, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the Greater London Authority with Terry Farrell and Partners. This is an important and strategic site in Shoredtich that has been vacant for many years but now has an opportunity for redevelopment, given that the Shoreditch Station as part of the East London Line extension is due to open in 2010. The exercise was conducted in two stages: Part 1 involved an urban analysis of the designated study area where conventional urban design analytical techniques were combined with social science research tools to identify comprehensive regeneration opportunities and constraints for the site wtihin a wider area. Part 2 involved the writing of a development brief addressing the principles of urban structure, public realm and accessibility characteristics for the benefit of professional development teams. An investigation of potential transformation of the study area was undertaken through the analysis of six thematic categories: 1. Socio-economic analysis; 2. Urban grain/ mix; 3. Public realm/open spaces; 4. Accessibility; 5. Massing/density; and 6. Typology/landmarks.

introduction

BISHOPSGATE GOODSYARD

TRANSFORMED

>household characteristics > population densities

Key data from Neighbourhood Statistics 2001 was analysed for seven wards surrounding the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site including the socio-economic profile of the residents, quality of housing stock, the economic structure of local businesses, and important indicators including crime.

1 socio economic

> ethnic mix > 2010

> 1827

> 1897

> 1940

2 urban grain/mix
Traditional figure ground analysis to understand the historic evolution of the urban block structure was combined with attempts to delayer the urban grain of the study area in the third dimension by not just documenting the built versus open space but also prviate and public realm as well as activities at both ground and upper levels. In order to capture the complex nature of the areas mixity, conventional land use characterisation was replaced by eight more dynamic categories.

> activities

> built fabric

> private space

> plot fabric > top: ground level activities; above: upper floor activities

BENVGBU1 - TRANSFORMING LOCAL AREAS: URBAN DESIGN FOR DEVELOPMENT I 2009-10

MSC BUILDING AND URBAN DESIGN IN DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT PLANNING UNIT, THE BARTLETT

BISHOPSGATE GOODSYARD

TRANSFORMED
3 open spaces/public realm
> active frontages: weekday > active frontages: weekend

The relation of open space within Bishopsgate Goodsyard is primarily analysed on three scales: the city level, the local area and the site and its immediate borders. The core analytical framework used four dichotomies that characterize the use and meaning of open spaces: the distinction between private and public; the relation between formality and informality; the differentiation between hardscapes and softscapes; and finally the high and low intensity of use of space. The main system of open spaces in the local area is characterized by the presence markets mainly Spitafields, Columbia, Brick Lane, Sunday Upmarket and Petticoat Lane. These are present in both public and private domains, open and covered, formal and informal and in both a temporal and permanent form.

> Sound - Movement & Space - Time Analysis

> Public open space

> Private open space

> Collective open space

BENVGBU1 - TRANSFORMING LOCAL AREAS: URBAN DESIGN FOR DEVELOPMENT I 2009-10

MSC BUILDING AND URBAN DESIGN IN DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT PLANNING UNIT, THE BARTLETT

BISHOPSGATE GOODSYARD

TRANSFORMED
6 building typologies/landmarks
Landmark correlations Amongst the different kind of landmark buildings seen in the area, several clear groups were identified. The three principal ones are mapped in the previous landmark location maps. However, further detail is worth for clarification. Included to the right, are these main typologies, which range from the temporary market to the high-tech high rises. In between these two extremes, the Bishopsgate Goods Yard area has an extended presence of mixed use spaces, which not only suggest a growing need for them, but a true potential. The presence of large Victorian storehouses, old factories, and empty warehouses in a city in dire need for real estate, opens as a market of available floor space. Renovated spaces like the Tea Building, the Buiscuit Building and the Old Truman Brewery are some examples. Landmark values Considering the previous analysis of building use, blight and conservation, an assumed qualification of several values are made: the Physical value (the built quality of the landmark space), the Social value (the social and/or cultural significance of the space), the Economic value (the potential for economic activities) and the Visual value (its visual dominance of the space in the sorroundings). For this purpose, a specific built example of each typology has been selected, including categories that explain their physicality as well as their role in the areas context.
Categories BrickLaneMarket Mixeduse OldTrumanBrewery SpitalfieldsMarket ChristChurch TEABuilding BroadgateTower EXCLUSIVE mixed allweek allweek allweek allweek monday-friday Excludingthetwoextreme examples,itseemsthat INCLUSIVE PUBLICTOPRIVATE mixedusebuildingsarethe landmarkelementswith weekends morebalancedbuiltvalues. GENERALTIMESOFUSE Thepotentialforrenovationandflexibilityincrease thechancesforconservationandtimeusage.Other QUALITYOFCONSERVATION LESS areaseitherlackphysical quality(blightedareas)or socialintensity(highrises).

TEMPORARYMARKET +BUILTMIXEDUSE

MEDIUMSCALEMIX USERENOVATIONS

PERMANENTMARKET &SHOPS

SIGNIFICANT BUILDINGS

LARGESCALEMIXEDUSE RENOVATIONS

NEWHIGHRISES

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> historical periods

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> texture

> materials

There are highly diverse built typologies, many of them being old Victorian warehouses and factories that through renovation have become shelter for several mixed-use compounds. Its proximity to the City of London, and a much lower real estate value, has steadied the consolidation of some of these spots. At the same time, though, the area is subject to striking constrasts, that are a reflection of the council divide, the new development pressures, and the urban decay that is both a statistical reality and a perceptual image. With considerable levels of crime, there is an additional sense of insecurity that can be related to the blighted built environment that is identifiable in some zones. Derelict infrastructure creates a perception of needed re-development, which is the tendency of new projects. These call for a complete transformation of the current urban fabric, and the introduction (or extension) of a new typological landscape, completely different of the textural quality that is representative of the current elements.

5 massing/density
> graffiti/hoardings/decay > blight

4 accessibility
London population.Urban 8,278,000 inhab. Urban Area: 1,623 km2 Average of households per ha= 42, Density 5,100 per km2. Metropolitan population: 13,945,000 inhab. Area : 4,761/km2 HACKNEY Population: 202,824 Density: 106.39 p/ha CITY OF LONDON Population: 7,185 Density: 24.79 p/ha TOWER HAMLETS Population: 196,106 Density: 99.2 p/ha

BENVGBU1 - TRANSFORMING LOCAL AREAS: URBAN DESIGN FOR DEVELOPMENT I 2009-10

MSC BUILDING AND URBAN DESIGN IN DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT PLANNING UNIT, THE BARTLETT

YS IC AL SO CI AL EC ON VIS OMI C UA L

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