The North Street Quarter Development Project

Today we were given the brief! and as suspected it included the NSQ development. By using the existing NSQ proposal and masterplan we are to firstly, develop a newly revised masterplan that better suits the stakeholders. Following on from this we are to then develop our design into the technical stage and present it at the end of the year.

To start my research I looked through the original planning application from Santon dated back in 2014, the idea behind this was to get an understanding of the story so far, from the 2014 original planning application I found lots of information on the following;

• Visual Impact Assessments – An assessment of the landscape views, the impacts of the proposal to those views, and what it has to offer
• Precedent Studies – Related research to the proposal on hotels, commercial, retail and housing projects
• Environmental Impact Assessment – A report on the Environmental Impact
• Heritage and Historic Research – A report on the heritage and historic architecture and history of Lewes
• Application Documents – These include comments from bodies such as Sport England, RHP Architects, East Sussex Council, South Downs Authority, Sussex Crime Prevention
• Plans – Drawings that include master plans, sections and 3D images

Architects, R., 2013. Long Distant Views.

For a place to start in my research, I thought id focus today on the views from and around the site using the research done within the planning application.

I was starting to try and play with a couple of ideas using what I picked up from the architectural tour in LA and with the views that are on offer around the proposed site. Above are some of my sketches thinking of framed views around the site for Lewes attractive views, along with playing with including the idea of symmetry within parts of the scheme.

References 

Architects, R., 2013. Long Distant Views. [Online]
Available at: https://planningpublicaccess.southdowns.gov.uk/online-applications/files/1CFD2193C23661AC296F6BAE270285AD/pdf/SDNP_13_05555_PRE-LONG_DISTANCE_VIEWS-292804.pdf

 

Its the 8th January and after celebrating a brilliant Christmas and New Year in California I cannot wait to get stuck into my final Architectural Technology Project. So to get a head start I took an architectural tour of the Getty, the Getty was opened in 1974 and named after Paul Getty who donated $1.2 billion dollars in creating an art museum which is located in the hills of Los Angeles. The museum was designed by Richard Meier with various indoor and outdoor spaces and views across the city. With such a large budget inherited from Paul Getty there was a real opportunity to create a fantastic space for the community of Los Angeles and the tourists that visit.

The tour guide had taken us through the museum and explain to us the idea behind the design, both my partner and I described the feeling of how when entering the museum, it felt like walking into a completely different environment from what the city if Los Angeles gives, and it turns out that it was no accident!

The whole facade of the building, floor slabs and everything you can see from the outside space is completely in symmetry. All the materials are square, and the areas of those squares are factors of each other, meaning that all the material falls into the next simultaneously. This precise symmetry effect is used to give a feeling of relaxation which we could feel even before knowing that it was done on purpose!

                                                

If you look from the pictures all the trees and street furniture are purposely set out in equal dimensions apart, again this has been done purposely to add to the effect of symmetry. The final distinct attribute to the design was the framed views. Around the building are square frames that look out of place, but these are anything but out of place! They frame the view of the city as Richard Meier wanted visitors to feel they had a right to feel a part of the great city of Los Angeles.

                                                                           

As I have not been given our final Architectural Technology brief, I can only start to create my creative process to think how this design can be incorporated into the NSQ.