QUESTION TIME uestiontime
Thismonth’s question:Whydoesregenerationcreateso manyblandanduglybuildings?
To the cheerleaders of urban renewal, the rapid construction of glass and steel mega-structures and asymmetric housing blocks across Britain’s skyline are taking us towards a shiny future. However, one of the UK’s most highly respected architects, Lord Rogers is concerned about current building patterns. He believes we’re in the midst of an ill-conceived building boom that’s in danger of creating the slums of tomorrow. Thirteen years ago Lord Rogers led the Urban Task Force, a commission of architects, planners and engineers which produced a blueprint for inner-city renewal that focused on design-led buildings and reform of the planning system to allow greater involvement of residents. But it seems in 2011 little has changed.We still have no examples of regenerated neighbourhoods and cities in the UK to compare with the best in the world. Lord Rogers has placed blame for the lack of inspiring design firmly at the door of the planning office and reams of red tape that tie- up any British building project – resulting in the dilution of the architect’s original vision. But is this really true? And if it is, what needs to be done to secure the architectural integrity of British cities of today and tomorrow?
MARKMUIR DIRECTOR AT KAY ELLIOTT
Not since Victorian times has the UK enjoyed so much activity in the built environment. However, although billions have been spent on public services and buildings, the flip side may be that this boom in activity and demand has paved the way for developers to construct more poor quality interventions, which have in turn led to a general public acceptance. But this is not the story
everywhere.We’ve found success in designing healthy urban interventionwherewe support those clientswho demand a positive contextual response and examine the full social, economic and environmental impact of their schemes fromthe earliest design stages. Recently, as part of the Sea
Change £250million regeneration programme, we assisted in regenerating the most iconic, but underperforming local structure in Blackpool - its tower, and facilitated the provision of continuous major links between the town and the beach. Kay Elliott restored the
grandeur and heritage of the Tower and added two contemporary global attractions. It will now sit amongst a surreal ‘dunescape’, a new wedding venue, an open-air event space and one of the largest skate parks in Europe. Another example of urban
regeneration is the Titanic Signature Project in Belfast. Here, we’ve put great weight on its connections with the shipyards rich heritage, which is deeply engrained in the Northern Irish culture. Indeed the community
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ownership of the project has grown to such a level that we have reshaped the visitor experience as Titanic Belfast. Now the attraction is fully inclusive of all 401 ships built by Irish hands at Harland andWolf. This process of engagement has created variety, vibrancy and an environment far frombland. As purse strings tighten and
it’s harder for developers to secure the return on investment they need,we have to be careful not to lower quality standards. Instead, we have to be smarter,more creative and use the opportunities we have to regenerate towns and citieswisely.
KARL RENNER FOUNDING PARTNER CLARKE RENNER ARCHITECTS
I’ve found that working within planning guidelines has led inexorably to identikit developments, in that parking standards, refuse carry-distances and overlooking conventions tend to generate similar layouts, with similar-scaled spaces between buildings. People always say wistfully that they’d love to live in a mews, but there’s no way that intimacy can be achieved these days. Moreover, building regulations - escape distances, staircase location, internal layouts and window sizes - tend to generate ‘pattern-book’ buildings. You only have to look in the newspapers’ property supplements to see this. The fact that these major
design decisions are ‘givens’ has led, on the other hand, to designers resorting to ever-more desperate and frankly superficial measures to liven it all up, which
is why we see all the hit-and- miss windows and random patches of different materials. It’s a very 21st century result: hectic and clamouring profile that disguises a mundane, dispiriting hollowness. Yet planners’ interventions are
very often unhelpful, and have meant that every one of my projects has had to be altered to its detriment to attain permission – not what planning is supposed to be about at all! Their criterion seems to be that if the development can be seen to have a precedent (however unappealing) then everything is fine; but what they should be doing is pressing for innovative responses to changing lifestyles, clothed in sober, substantial architecture.
JANE DANN DIRECTOR, TIBBALDS PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN
We don’t call it regeneration when development happens in places that are thriving, where people value their communities and environment and there is a strong property market. Regeneration is what happens where some or all of these ingredients are missing. So often the regeneration of an
area starts froma lowpoint,with a history of cheap, poor quality buildings, clients not investing in design, and sometimes local communities prepared to accept any visible signs of investment and the jobs associatedwith it, regardless of its quality. Fundamentally there is still a lack of understanding of place-making and howimportant it is to the quality of life for local residents, and the ability to attract and
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