final design idp

7/27/2019 Final Design IDP

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Design Brief

The Northern Fringe site is located in the

South Inner City of Belfast in an area

located between the old gasworks site and

The Markets residenal area. The site is

roughly 6.70 acres which is 27,107 meters

squared.

At the moment the site is mostly vacant with

roughly one third being used as a car park.

The site is located on the periphery of the

city centre along Cromac Street which is an

arterial route. It is also located beside the

River Lagan. The periphery of the site has

been subjected to regeneraon in recent

mes with the Markets residenal area in the

second half of the 20th Century and the

gasworks at the turn of the 21st Century.

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland and is the

economic hub of the province with a populaon of

roughly 286,000 people making it the second

largest city in the island of Ireland. It is located on

the shores of Belfast Lough and has had an

illustrious industrial economy throughout its

history.

The site is located in between an arterial route and

the River Lagan, there is also a residenal area to

the North and a commercial area to the South. It is

important to note that there are some secterian

divisions between the predominantly Unionist

Donegall Pass and predominantly Naonalist

Markets area.

Belfast has 2 airports, a large port with links to

Great Britain and Europe, and a world-class

public transport system with links to the

surrounding towns. The Belfast metropolitan urban

area contains roughly a quarter of Northern

Irelands populaon.

Aims and Objecves

In order to regenerate the Northern Fringe

site into a vibrant mixed-use development a

detailed analysis must be conducted. This will

include an immediate site analysis aswell as an

analysis of the surrounding area which is

essenal for urban design; it is from this

analysis that aims and objecves should appearwhich will inuence the design raonale of the

project and ulmately shape the masterplan for

the area.

Urban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Page One

Introducon

Contextual Analysis

The site has amble amounts of potenal as it is

in a prime locaon in terms of proximity to

Belfast city centre, and the local amenies of

the surrounding communies. It also poses

some very interesng and potenally dicult

urban design challenges regarding the locaon

and physical barriers within the site such as the

River Lagan and the railway line. The

following process will aim to achieve a suitable

and reasonable soluon which will breathe new

life into the site and locality.

Brief


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1815 1858

As you can see the area has been economically acve since the mid-19th Century, in the 1858 map there was a saw mill in the locaon with a small Gasworks constructed to the south of my site.

Construcon on the Gasworks started in 1822 and expanded ten-fold in 1874. The demise of the Gasworks started in 1895 when the rst electricity generaon staon opened in Belfast, despite

this City Hall and the Albert Bridge were built by prots from the Gasworks. In the 1960s the Gasworks changed from using coal to oil and this helped boost producon but by the 1970s oil prices

increased mainly due to the Organizaon of Arab Petroleum Exporng Countries embargo. This eventually led to the collapse of the Gasworks and by 1988 the system was shut down and the plant

closed.

1932 Present

Policy Context

-Grow the populaon of the City of

Belfast.

-Manage the movement of people in

the Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area.

-An aracve urban environment for

those who live and work in the city.

-Support a drive to provide addional

dwellings, parcularly at gateway sites

to the City Centre.

Regional Development Strategy

2035South Belfast Acon Plan 2011-2015

-To ensure that people living in the most

deprived Neighbourhoods have access to

the best possible services and to the

opportunies which make for a beer

quality of life for themselves and their

families

-To improve the environment and image of

our most deprived neighbourhoods so that

they become more aracve places to live

and work in

PPS 3: Access, Movement and Parking

-Ensure that new development oers arealisc choice of access by walking, cycling

and public transport.

-It is government policy for greater

integraon of transportaon and land-use

planning by:

promong more sustainable transport

choices;

promong greater accessibility for all; and

reducing the need to travel, especially by

the private car.

Urban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Page Two

Historical Context


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Urban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Populaton Decline

The populaon of Belfast and in parcular Belfast

City Centre has been in decline si nce the 1950s

when it peaked at over 400,000 people in the 1951

census to todays gure of roughly 286,000 people,

as you can see from the graph to the right other UK

cies with a similar populaon have also

experienced populaon decline during this periodbut on a smaller scale. The other cies have

experienced populaon increase in recent years

due to iniaves in place to counteract populaon

decline and this is where Belfast lacks.

The reason for Belfasts populaon decline

can according to The Development Brief

by Belfast City Council which was released

in 2006 be put down to; The relave lack

of internaonal immigraon into Belfast

in comparison to most UK centers due to

factors such as the aracveness of the

city center as a place to live. This has in

part helped to contribute towards a trend

of movement from the city center to

suburban areas and selements outsideof the city boundary. The chart on the le

shows which wards have suered the most

from populaon decline, The inner city has

suered the worst.

Page Three

The site I chose is located in the Shasbury Ward and

according to the 2011 census the Shasbury Ward has

a populaon of 7,214; of this 3,751 are male and 3,463

are female. There is a slight concern with the amount of

people that are economically inacve; 2,813 of people

to be exact, this is signicantly higher than theNorthern Ireland average. There is also a small problem

with crime in the area with 4,367 recorded criminal

incidents in 2010 but the fact that the city centre is

within the Shasbury Ward boundaries must also be

considered. According to the Inner South Belfast

Neighbourhood Partnership The area has suered from

the decline in tradional manufacturing industries and

the resulng job losses, and coupled with populaon

movements out of the area, local people have suered

the composite eects of urban decline.

The naonal Identy of

residents in the

Shasbury Ward is tothe le; 48% or 3,463

of the populaon had a

Brish identy, 24% or

1,731 had an Irish

identy, 24% or 1,731

had a Northern Irish

identy and 4% or 289

didnt know or

abstained.

To the le is a pie chart

of the religious

background of theresidents of the

Shasbury Ward; 35% or

2525 of the populaon

were from a Catholic

background, 47% or

3391 were from a

Protestant or other

Chrisan background

and 18% were from a

dierent or non religious

background.

Populaon Trends Of UK Cies Wards With The Most Populaon Decline

Overall we can see that the Shasbury Ward is

similar to most UK inner cit y wards with above

average levels of economic inacvity and crime rates.

Most crimes reported related to an-social behaviour

amongst teenagers and young adults, I feel that this

is mainly due to the l ack of services and an area for

them to relax and unwind. I found out from the

Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Partnership that

the area has suered decline in tradional industries

over the past y years. There have also been

populaon movements from the area mainly to

surrounding towns; which can be seen in the graph

above. The populaon density of Belfast has fallen

greatly since 1981 so this is something that must be

addressed.

Shasbury Ward

Belfast

Map of Shasbury Ward Populaon of Surrounding Towns Populaon Density

Religious Background Identy


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The above legability map shows that the area is

blighted with numrous Cul-de-sac. This has a

detrimental eect on the connecvity of the area.

There are also numerous physical barriers such as

high walls and some have fences on top creang

poor public realm for people around the site. These

Site AnalysisUrban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

1

2 3

Views

are listed as barriers in the above map, From the map you can see that the

River Lagan and railway line can also be seen as barriers. There are severalnodes in the vicinity of the site which can be seen as posive.

Legability Map

Land-use Map

Street Hierarchy

Page Four

The land-use map above shows that the

surrounding area is dominated by residenal housing

and commercial units. It also shows that there are

some services for local people such as a community

centre, retail units, a school, a church and a leisure

centre within walking distance from the site. There

are also several vacant buildings in the area. There are

several car parks located on derelict land which must

be addressed.

The above view is looking South on part of the site, the

ground is tarmaced and fenced o. There is only a few

surrounding buildings and these are low in height.

The above picture is from the Radisson hotel looking

North-East, the car park in the foreground belongs to

the Radisson hotel. The lack of connecvity between

the Gasworks and the Markets can be seen in this

image.

The above image is looking East at the Lloyds banking

oces, in the foreground is part of my site. This part of

the site is currently undeveloped and not being used

even though it is only a 5 minute walk from the city

centre.

The street divisions can be seen in the street hierarchy

map to the le, in a small area surrounding my site there

are arterial routes from the c ity, secondary routes linking

neighbourhoods, terary routes within neighbourhoods

and nally cul-de-sacs. The cul-de-sac culture has

increased in recent years and this has had a detrimental

eect on the permeability of these areas as it is dicult

to negoate. The public realm is of poor quali ty in this

area.


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Urban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Site Analysis

From research I found that Belfast has very

lile urban parks or even open green areas

within walking distance of the city c entre

(taking the city centre as Donegal Place)

there is currently small urban green areas

around City Hall, Bankmore Square and the

Crescent.

I feel that there should be more urban parks for people to relax or meet

friends in a welcoming enviornment, an urban park would also greatly

benet workers in the area as they could walk and keep t in a friendly

enviornment or even eat lunch during their break.

From my analysis I found that there is a need for;

- Residenal units as the populaon of the

area have fallen.

- A small urban park within walking of the

city centre.

- New roads and buildings to re-create the

tradional block and grid format.

- More connecvity with the river and in

parcular a way of bridging the railway line.

- Buildings that are sensive to their sur-

roundings in terms of height.

- A bridge across the river to address the

connecvity issues.

1

2

The above map indicates the street

layout and the urban block form, you

1931

Findings From Analysis

can see that most of the streets are parallel and the urban block

is in existence, this type of street layout is very easy to navigate

and provides great connecvity.

The dierence in heights between the North and South of the site can be

seen below.

The above gure ground map shows

the current street and building layout.The tradional street layout has been replaced with many

cul-de-sacs and the urban block form has been demolished in

favour of one o developments, which reduce the permiability

of the area.

Present

The above map illustrates how the buildings surrounding the

site are of diering heights, ranging from 8 stories on the

South side to 3 stories on the North side; any development

should take this into account as there is a risk of invasion of

privacy and loss of light.

Below are cross secons of the site showing building heights

in comparison to the site.

Page Five

Building Heights

Urban Grain

Urban Park


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Urban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Coin Street Community Builders- London

Coin Street Community Builders (CSCB) have

developed a mixed-use community in the heart of

the London where innovave social housing

developments, commercial and cultural

organisaons exist side by side; it was established

in 1981 by members of the local community who

wanted control of their community. Due to CSCBs

vision and determinaon Coin Street is now athriving mix of social housing, businesses and public

spaces that have been delivered as a long term

project by and for local people.

The Greater London Council (GLC) owned the site

and half was oered to speculave developers if they

could achieve planning consent. Coin Street Acon

Group worked closely with a team of architects

from the GLC who were commied to creang good

quality social housing in London. The Acon Group

wanted aordable housing that would aract young

families into the area and transform it into asustainable community. The Acon Group became

CSCB, a not-for-prot company that enabled them to

buy the land from the GLC.

The risks involved in creang innovave social

housing in central London have paid o for the Coin

Street Community Builders and the local

community. They wanted to create a community

that would last by providing housing co-ops,

commercial facilies and open spaces for local

people, and they have achieved their goal. I feel theCSCB site has a close associaon to my site as they

are both located in the city centre; I also plan to

build mixed-use developments with social housing

included and to have open areas in the

development. The Coin Street Community Buil ders

has proven to be very successful and I therefore will

be using it as an example.

Cowley Teenage Space, Brixton- London

Young residents of a Brixton housing estate worked with Snug & Outdoor to create Cowley

Teenage Space - a dedicated space where young people can spend me with friends.

When residents started to complain that young people were loitering and behaving an-socially.

The estate management board decided to take acon by opening up an old depot space and

turning it into a space for teenagers.

The teenage space also includes a basketball hoop which allows teenagers to play sports andpromotes an acve lifestyle. The Cowley estate was blighted by high rates of an-social

behaviour mainly due to a lack of resources for teenagers. This is similar to my site as it is

located on the periphery of an inner ci ty neighbourhood with high rates of an-social behaviour.

Since the construcon of this project there has been a drop in the number of complaints of

an-social behaviour from local people. It is hoped that there will be similar results when t he

teenage space is constructed.

Precedents

Brooklyn Grange- New York

The Brooklyn Grange are 3 rooop urban

farms in New York City that grow high quality

vegetables for various restaurants in New

York. It started out with one rooop farm

and expanded aer there was high demand

for the products, overall there are 2.5 acres

of urban farm land.

I feel a rooop urban farm would be ideal for

The Northern Fringe site, I feel there is a market

for urban farming in Belfast and since the site is

located so close to the ci ty centre it could become

an aracon and be an example for other cies to

follow suit.

Page Six


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Urban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Developing a Concept

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

City centre locaon

Located on arterial route

Riverfront locaon Size of site- 6.75 acres

Weakness

Poor connecvity

Barriers around site

Narrow site- 36 meters at narrowest Lack of Green areas

Opportunies

Mixed-use development

Creaon of 24 hour space

Repopulate the city centre

Improve the connecvity

Opportunity for urban park

To bridge the River Lagan

Threats

Commercial encroachment

Current economic climate

Must be a shared space

Located on an interface between the

Markets and the Donegal PassPage Seven

When designing the site, it is important to

create as many access points as possible, this

will help with the connecvity of the area.

The linking of the key

areas within the site will

also be very important,

the

linkages must be

easily accessable and the

public realm must be of a

high standard.

The idea is to reconnect

the predominantly

commercial area of the

Gasworks with the

predominantly residenal

area of The Markets.

Below is a map of the key pedestrian movements in

the area, the Northern Fringe has the possibility to

become a new meeng place.

The design of the site

should aim to improve the

permeability of the area

which is very poor at the

moment, pedestrians and

cyclists should have

priority over cars.

New Access Points

Permeability

Linkages

Failed Design ConceptsReconnecng

The image to the le is a design concept for the

site, its key focus is on public space. The city of

Belfast needs more open space especially in the

city centre so I used this as a basis for my design,

to increase the public realm of Cromac Street I

feel that the vacant areas need to be built on

creang acve street fronts and aracng

pedestrians to the area. I didnt chose this

concept as i felt it did not deal with the issue of

connecvity in the area.

The design concept on the le was my second

design, I moved the park closer to Cromac Street

so it would be a shared space. I tried to address

the connecvity issue by re-creang the

tradional street layout with straight streets

that would be easy for pedestrians to navigate.

I did not choose this design as I felt that I hadnt

addressed the barriers of the site, which are

the railway line and the river. I also didnt try

and re-create the tradional urban block in the

design.


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Urban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Masterplan

New Plaza that will house

the teenage area. It is in an

area that is public which will

help eliminate an-social

behaviour.

2 new 5 storey stepped buildings or

setback buildings as they are known

in architecture. There will be a tunnel

through the ground oor to allow thetrains to pass underneath. The

buildings will contain retail units on the

ground oor including cafs and

restaurants creang a riverside

development. Commercial space and

aracve apartments will also be

included with an urban farm located on

the balconies.

Mixed-use building that

will house residenal and

commercial units, designed

in such a way to retain the

urban block. The residenal

units will include social and

private housing.

New pedestrian bridge creang a link

with the East side of the Lagan River and

allowing access to the Ormeau Park.

New building creang a new urban

block that is needed to improve

legability. It will also help the

economy of the locailty providing

extra retail and commercial units

as well as aracve apartments.

Hard landscaped

pedestrianised area with

aracve street frontages

and street furniture. good

lighng will be essenal. This

pedestrianised street will be

one of the key areas of the

Northern Fringe

development.

New development retaining the

tradional city block form, mixed use

with space for retail, commercial and

residenal. There will be social and

aordable housing including beside

apartments designed for young

professionals and small families.

Three new roads that will help restorethe original street paern and help

the connecvity issues in area. The

streets will have cycle lanes to

encourage cycling and will also

contain footpaths that will be lit at

night mes improving the public

realm of the area .

Small urban park that will

benet the local residents

and local working

populaon, it is important

that this area is well lit

and maintained to a high

standard.

Page Eight

The vision of a successful neighbourhood is all about creang a vibrant area with dierent funcons. By looking at the urban

environment within Belfast especially the public realm, what works and what doesnt work can be easily idened. Taking past failures

as a plaorm to work o I have devised a small masterplan for the area with the aim being turning a derelict site into an aracve, well

designed area that will ence people to visit the Northern Fringe.

Growth is inevitable and desirable, but destrucon of community character is not. The

queson is not whether your part of the world is going to change. The queson is how.

Edward T. McMahon

This will be a new open square that will slope

upwards towards the river, this is to al low

the trains to pass through a tunnel under the

ground; the open square will help the

connecvity issues in the area by bridging the

railway line. This will also help create a ri verside

economy with cafs, restaurants and bars.


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Page Nine

Final DesignsUrban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

1: Signature BuildingsOne of the key issues from the analysis was the lack

of connecvity with the river in parcular the barri-

er that is the railway line and in parcular a way of

bridging this railway line. From extensive research

I found that buildings have been built over barriers

such as motorways and I felt that this site would be

perfect for such a building. The benets of having a

building over the railway with the a tunnel going

through the ground oor were that this methodallowed new riverside development which is much

sought aer in Belfast.

The image to the le is of a streetscape outside

the signature building there will be a pao with

room for tables and chairs from the cafs and

bars, trees and owers will disnguish thedierence between the pao and footpath. A

cycle lane will be included to encourage cycling,

and a one way street of roughly 5 meters with

on street parking. There will be another footpath

which will ence people to walk both sides of

the road. The street will be well lit and there will

be CCTV to ensure the safety of people using the

street.

Scale 1:100

The signature building will also contain

an urban farm on the roof; the idea was

taken from Brooklyn, New York and is

suited to the locaon as the roof is at. I

feel there is a need for an urban farm in

Belfast and the Northern Fringe locaon

is ideal as it is a city centre locaon that

will hopefully encourage other

developments to follow suit and

become sustainable. There is alsobenets from an urban farm including

the health benets of being in a green

environment. There is also an

opportunity for the cafs or restaurants

that will be located at the Northern

Fringe to grow their produce and

Above are a plan and elevaon of the signature buildings, the tunnel

for the train is visible in both. The stepped nature of the building canbe seen on the right with t he balconies overlooking the River Lagan.

The building will be 5 stories high.

therefore save money on transport costs and encourage local employment. Above is an image of what the

urban farm will look like, the urban farm will only grow vegtables as they have very lile roots and reduce

the risk of damage to the building.


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Final DesignsFinal DesignsUrban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Page Ten

3: Pedestrian bridge

In great cies, spaces as well as places are designed and built

Rebecca Solnit

From the analysis I found that there was very lile public green areas within walking distance from

Belfast city centre, so when I was designing the site I felt there was a need to include a small green

area where local residents and people who work in the locality can sit down and relax and enjoy the

benets of an urban park. Which according to The Trust for Public Land include health benets such as

exposure to nature and greenery makes people healthier and physiologically happier. Economic

benets such as increased property values and aracveness for investment and nally social benets

such as reducing crime and creang stable neighbourhoods with a strong sense of community.

2: Urban Park

There are houses behind the urban park so to

protect the privacy a high wooden fence will be

erected, it will look very similar to the one in the

picture to the right with small trees and owers

growing to add to the aracveness of the park.

The Park will be maintained regularly and will

have adequate amenies such as benchs andbins, the park will be lit with lights whose power

will come from solar energy to help the

sustainability of the park.

As the analysis showed the River Lagan was acng as a barrier

so the easiest soluon was to build a bridge over the Lagan,

in keeping with the trend of pung pedestrians and cyclists

rst the bridge should be pedestrianised with a cycle lane. The

bridge should start on the West bank at the exisng tunnel

under the railway to improve ease of access for pedestrians

while the bridge on the East bank should exit directly across

from the entrance as there is already a path present.

The pedestrian bridge will allow access for

people aending the Ormeau Park to cross

the river without walking a long distance;

they will be able to avail of the retail

facilies that will be available at the

Northern Fringe.

The bridge will be based on a similar

design to Derry/Londonderrys Peace

Bridge but will be shorter in length and

therefore cheaper. The bridge has the

potenal to become a landmark of Belfastin much the same way as the Gateshead

Millennium Bridge has become in

Newcastle. Almost 50 per cent of people

that visited the bridge in 2011 were not

from the city showing that this bridge

could become a landmark.

The bridge will be designed to allow small boats to pass underneath, this is

because this strech of the river is very popular with rowing and canoes.

The bridge will be lit up and have CCTV to ensure safety for users and to prevent

vandalism.


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Final DesignsUrban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Page Eleven

4: Teenage Area

5: Pedestrianised Street

The new teenage area is based on an example from Brixton in

London where the crime rate and an-social behaviour rate among

teenagers was very high. As a result it was decided to put a teenage

space where young adults could relax and not cause trouble in the

neighbourhood. From the analysis I found that the area has a higher

than average crime rate, so I felt that a small teenage area would

benet the community. The area that I have chosen for the teenage

area is in a public locaon, beside housing and commercial units and

surrounded by 2 roads this is to help with the security of the

teenage area and will help reduce vandalism.

The design of the new teenage area will be

simple, it will contain a basketball hoop for

young people to stay acve and to get

exercise, seang areas both covered and

un-covered for people to socialise and it will

also contain small ramps for skateboards and

BMX bicycles. The area will have adequate

lighng and a durable, aracve fence so therewill be no loitering aer the teenage area is

closed at night me without reducing the publi c

realm of the Northern Fringe.

The pedestrianised street will be one of the key areas of the

Northern Fringe. It will contain cafs, bars restaurants and shops

on the ground oor this will help with the permeability as there

will acve street frontages. There will be commercial and

residenal units on the upper oors overlooking the street to keep

the area a 24 hour space.

The street will be hard landscaped and will have sucient street

furniture such as benches and bins provided for users. The street

will be lit by hanging lights that will help add to the relaxed

atmosphere.

To the right is an image of a busy

pedestrianised street in Galway. A

pedestrianised street encourages

acve street frontages.


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ConclusionUrban

Design

Strategy

Alan

Bannon

IndividualDesign

Project

Page Twelve

New Pedestrian Routes

Cost of The Northern Fringe

It is hoped that Belfast City Council will carry

out and pay for the infrastructure

improvements such as the construcon of the

roads, the bridge and smaller projects such as

planng of trees. The remaining works will be

carried out will be carried out by private

developers.

1 Retail oor = 474,110

1 Commercial oor = 182,350

2 Residenal oors = 389,013 - Private housing

= 167,100 - Social housing

A

B 1 Retail oor = 287,6401 Commercial oor = 119,850



D 2 Commercial oor = 239,7003 Residenal oors = 383,520 - Private housing


F

1 Retail oor = 312,000

2 Commercial oor = 224,000


E

C Urban Park = 35,000 Pedestrian Bridge= 2,000,000

Conclusion

Cross secton

Throughout this project it is hoped that anunderstanding has been given in relaon to the

development of the Northern Fringe sit. If the site

is to be developed it is important that it is done in a

way that enhances and respects the surrounding

environment. The introducon of public areas such

as squares and an urban park along with the

construcon of residenal units will increase the

populaon and acvity in this area, transforming

the Northern Fringe into a bustling inner city

neighbourhood. The result of the development

will be that the tradional urban block format will

be retained resulng in greater connecvity in the

area.

The physical barriers that existed such as the River Laganand the railway line will be bridged resulng in greater

permeability for pedestrians.

It can be said that it will cost a lot of money to develop

the Northern Fringe site and this money might be used

elsewhere but with it come an abundance of benets

for the area. It will provide an acve acc essible public

area for both recreaon and living.

The above map illustrates the exisng and new pedestrian

routes that have been created with the development of the

Northern Fringe site. Pedestrians, cyclists and public

transport will have priority over private cars which will help

create a sustainable development.

With the construcon of the pedestrian bridge the public will be able to easily gainaccess to the Ormeau Park from the Northern Fringe and vice versa, this will

undoubtedly aract more people into the area and therefore benet the local economy.

The new riverside development will provide sought aer riverside apartments and retail

units. It is important that the pedestrian routes are well lit for security and public realm

reasons and there are sucient street furniture available.

Below is a cross secon showing the pedestrian bridge the exisng riverside walkway,

the signature buildings and the teenage area. The scale of the bridge and the signature

buildings care evident in this cross secon. The urban farm that will be located on the

signature buildings are also evident.

final design idp

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