MASTERPLAN BRIEF
Principles
The grade 2 listed buildings, that used to be the old offices and tea rooms for the staff on the Dock, would be perfect for an art museum and a cafe. This will support the principles as it will create jobs, offer a place of education, as the museum will be supporting the heritage of the site. Whilst bringing new people to the area. The regeneration to this building will relate to the other elements in the site, as people will be able to have days out to the area. Secondly, the art museum will relate to the rest of the site as, there are cafes, restaurants, office spaces, the university of East London and residential areas. This will help to keep the area more competitive and make it more of a destination site
The green and blue infrastructure to the site is important as with the sight being right next to the water, there is a chance of flooding. By adding in green infrastructure, it can help to soak up a lot of the water and decrease the chances of flooding. By adding trees, planters and bushes it will also be good for the environment and the quality of the air in the area. Whilst making the area looking more aesthetically pleasing. In addition to this, ponds and water features throughout the site is important to help keep the historical context appropriate. Whilst having features to make the area have a higher vitality. Trees shall be placed along the water front, to try help decrease flooding risks, while breaking up the view. Also, using the trees as a sound barrier to the airport.
A case study that supports the design, that trees will help to reduce the effects of flooding is in Yorkshire. They put a £500,000 project in place to plant trees. The report states that the trees helped to reduce between 15% to 20% of flooding, during the winter rainfalls. This can have massive effects on a town as floods can massively reduce residents quality of life as the floods can ruin homes and having an effect on local business' as well as peoples livelihoods because of people being unable to commute. The scheme is the most eco friendly flood reducing project, as the trees have more than one purpose, such as also improving air quality in the surrounding areas. For a place like the Royal Docks in London, this scheme is perfect.
In relation to the housing mix, the houses should all be the same height to create a sense of unity. There will be community recycling spaces and storage to help the residents to integrate and be environmentally friendly. Therefore, creating a strong feel of community. Whilst being mixed in with the offices and business spaces in the site. This will help to overcome one of the key issues of the site which is integration between the residential areas and the rest of the site. As well as stopping a dead centre to the site from occurring.
The houses or flats should be made out of three different types of stone. Such as, field stone, Riverstone and cut cobblestone. This will create character and identity to the area. Whilst still looking aesthetically pleasing and contributing to creating a well designed space.
Possible meanwhile uses for the empty office buildings, would be to turn it into flat spaces. This will help with the integration of the regeneration to surrounding areas, as it will help to break the stages of regeneration up and make the regeneration a smoother transition. Another possible meanwhile use for the empty office buildings could be storage space. The storage space will be accessible to eveyone, wether they live on site or not, a this will start to bring in money for the area, with the retained profit be used to help fund the rest of the site.
Reflection
Upon reflection of the project, I have learnt so much. Firstly, I have learnt that there are many different types of regeneration, and how each type has a different purpose. That will suit the area better and what is needed from the site. Not only have I learnt the different types of generation, I have also learnt to look at what aspects the site have and how to assign the correct type of regeneration to them. Following on from this, I have learnt, when viewing a site, what questions to ask, how to conduct myself and what I need to take notes and photos of. This is a very important skill to have when going into this field of work, as it can help to create the most accurate view of the site, which will enable me to be able to create and transform the area in the best way possible for the site. Another useful skill that I have developed is the level of technique needed for good graphic skills. I learnt to create a website, which has taught me how to project my ideas in a clear and concise manor. Whilst incorporating other design skills such as, Sketchup, maps and drawing skills. Also, I have learnt that community (when redesigning a site) should have a massive impact and weight on the decisions made about the area. This is an important skill to learn, as if the newly created design, is liked by the community and helps them to have an increased quality of life, then the community will be easier to negotiate with and will be happier with the regeneration. Lastly, I have learnt how to work as a team to create ideas and visions for the area. This is important, for the future as often when regenerating a site, more than one developer will be involved in the process. So therefore, knowing how to work as a team is very important to be able to complete the job to the best it can be.
Vision
illustration
References