32 PROJECT REPORT: MIXED USE SCHEMES
The resulting composition of stacked boxes
overlapping and appearing to ‘slot’ into each other was directly inspired by the site’s heritage
project which had so much community engagement. It was a well orchestrated piece of work, including Curo having a dedicated liaison officer who could direct us to some of the harder to reach residents.” He adds: “One of the things Curo was keen to do was to link the site better into the city – take fences down and use it to help in the regeneration of Foxhill by creating a single combined community across the new development and the estate.” The new Community Hub was also intended to provide the vital linking piece between the old and new housing, however its genesis was more pragmatic – a Section 106 agreement that required ‘social infrastructure’ to support the new development. Curo spotted this opportunity to create a shared resource for residents of Foxhill and Mulberry Park; Fairham says that Curo’s ambition to make this a significant asset – one that would “galvanise the two communities” – was evident from the outset.
Briefing & optioneering The Section 106 agreement required a primary school, plus 100 m2
of community
space. However, reports Fairham, “Curo said ‘what good is 100 m2
to anybody’ –
they wanted considerably more.” Early on in the briefing process, the client built a business case including a cafe plus bookable community space, spaces for
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wellbeing activities, and ‘enterprise space’ as its three key components. As a result of Curo’s drive to make “a serious investment in local prosperity, the brief ended up consisting of nearer 1000 m2
of flexible
accommodation for use by local groups. Fairham further explains the vision of how the centre would work in practice: “Parents could drop the kids off at school, meet up in the community cafe, do some wellbeing – e.g. ‘Yogalates, ’ singing or dancing classes – or use the employment space.” The centre proposed would offer a wide range of facilities that would not only benefit local residents’ wellness and prosperity (many classes are run by locals), but also that of the region. The client’s ambition was clear at the initial interview: “The enthusiasm that came across was fantastic, we all came away saying we really hope we win this one,” says Fairham. Following appointment, BDP explored a number of options – together with users – around the mix of spaces, on criteria of commerciality as well as community benefit. The consultation phase threw up some interesting findings: “Interestingly, things like a big fixed gym space, which we thought would be picked up on, wasn’t seen as a priority; it was more about having flexible spaces, says Fairham.
The project was a single-stage design and build, with Rydon being the successful
ADF JUNE 2019
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