Site Analysis - Location & Development Context
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Site Analysis - Location & development context Holloway Campus Location The existing London Metropolitan University campus at Holloway road is situated in a potentially enviable position in terms of accessibility and visibility. Located adjacent to the new Emirates stadium of Arsenal Football club, the site has excellent public transport links, with Holloway tube station and Drayton Park overground station just a few minutes walk from the university. The site fronts onto the Holloway road, the A1, which is one of the HOLLOWAY busiest arterial routes into central London from the surroundings to the north. Holloway Urban Context The urban area surrounding the London Metropolitan University campus is an area undergoing significant change, evidenced by a rapidly changing built environment. Holloway today is a vital and evolving urban area within London. A melting pot of demography, cultures and social contexts. Supported by recent surrounding developments, the University has potentially a key part to play in the continued regeneration of the area. This section of the report briefly describes the history of development in the area, the University itself, and explores the distinct characters of the area today. CITY OF LONDON London Metropolitan University campuses within London Design & Access Statement . page 6 Site Analysis - History of the urban area History of development in Holloway The Holloway Road dates back to medieval times and for centuries, along with Back Road (now Liverpool Road) and the Essex Road was a main route for driving livestock to Islington. Over time, settlements emerged along the road. One such settlement at the junction with Hornsey Road, Ring Cross, is now the site of London Met University. The church of St Magdalene was built by William Wickings in 1814. By 1834, settlement along the busy turnpike had significantly expanded and the area had become known as Lower Holloway. At this moment in time, Hornsey Street did not exist, but Eden Grove did, forming a local access road. By the late 19th Century, London had expanded to absorb Lower Holloway. This expansion was aided by the railway network which also made its physical imprint on the urban fabric, creating barriers to local connections and defining distinct character areas. The familiar pattern of Victorian terraced housing dominated the area, combined with commercial premises along the Holloway Road and industrial sites adjacent to the railway: the site of the current London Met University campus is one where all three of these met. 1834 - Lower Holloway 1896 - Expansion of Holloway Road Benwell Road was lined with Victorian terraces, many of which still exist today. Likewise Brand Street and Slaney Place. While these streets no longer exist, today's urban fabric still hints at their former presence. In 1896 the Northern Polytechnic Institute was opened. The 20th Century brought great change to the area. The Piccadilly Underground line was built at the start of the century with a station at Holloway Road which opened in 1906. The mainline station (which had opened in 1852) closed in 1915. In 1971 the Northern Polytechnic merged with the North Western Polytechnic to form the Polytechnic of North London, which in turn became the University of North London in 1992. The Holloway Road has long been an important shopping street for North London and in 1990, the Nag's Head shopping centre was opened to the north of the railway viaduct. In 2000 Arsenal Football Club bought an industrial and waste disposal estate in Ashburton Grove, just to the north of the university campus, where they built the Emirates Stadium. They relocated to it from their historic home of Highbury in 2006. The University of North London merged with London Guildhall University to form London Metropolitan University in 2002. Present day - Established campus of London Metropolitan University, with Emirates to the north east, and new student quarter to south west. Design & Access Statement . page 7 Site Analysis - Building Grain Holloway urban area today The immediate urban context surrounding the university campus is an area of great diversity in building grain, ranging from the fine historic grain of the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian housing to the XXL grain of the Emirates Stadium. Between these extremes are the campus buildings of the university. This intermediate grain also includes the Islington recycling centre, the Nag's Head shopping centre (towards the courser grain of the spectrum) and the new blocks of flats and student housing, the floor plates of which are not as large as the teaching spaces of the university, but are noticeably bigger than the historic built form of terraced housing. Like building heights there is a discernible pattern of course grain buildings along main transport corridors, particularly the railway viaduct and the Holloway Road. Design & Access Statement . page 8 Site Analysis - Building Heights Building Heights Much of the historic building stock is two to three storey houses. As was common in Victorian times, bigger industrial buildings are mixed in with the houses, usually set back from the street behind residential terraces. These too are around two to four storeys, but their higher storey heights and bigger floorplates make them much more imposing buildings. Historically buildings along the Holloway Road were generally slightly taller than the local streets either side, reflecting the importance of the Holloway Road as a main street into and out of London. This trend continued in modern times with the building of the Tower Building at London Met University (15 storeys). In recent years, generally building heights have increased. To the west of Holloway Road new student flats rise from four to twelve storeys. Flats adjacent to the Emirates Stadium are range from six to twelve storeys high. To the north of the viaduct the tower blocks on Citizen Road, at nineteen storeys, are the tallest buildings in the immediate area. New buildings just to the north of the viaduct range from six to seven storeys. The existing buildings in the immediate context of J-Block are: -5-6 storey residential blocks of flats to the north -10/15 storey Tower/tech Tower to the west -3 storey residential terraced houses to the east -3/4 storey university buildings to the south The existing J-Block building is an anomaly within its current context, as it is currently mostly only 2 storeys of accommodation. Whilst this is no doubt due to its date of construction in the 1930’s, and the needs of the institution at the time, in the context of the modern day university inner- city campus this inefficient use of the site footprint is not sustainable. Design & Access Statement . page 9 Site Analysis - Character Areas Local ‘character areas’ Like growth rings of a tree, areas along the Holloway Road get progressively older moving south towards central London. North of the viaduct is substantially Edwardian. Around the university, the historic fabric is mostly Victorian giving way to the Georgian townhouses of Highbury Fields to the south. Redevelopment has impacted upon this simple reading. Sometimes this is in the form of infill buildings that may add or detract to the general character of the area, but not fundamentally change it. In other instances, significant change either comprehensive or incremental has created a whole new character area. This palimpsest has created the following character areas: The Emirates Stadium Emirates stadium Together with the large blocks of flats built adjacent to it and the Arsenal Museum, this forms a new character area. Its form derives from its use: the stadium is an object building surrounded by the wide-open spaces required to manage huge crowds of spectators. The stadium development includes large blocks of flats on its southern edge. Student Accommodation Quarter Opposite the London Met University campus, between the railway viaduct and Eden Grove, a student accommodation quarter is emerging. The architecture (mostly by CZWG Architects) is distinctive: large, brick-faced blocks with colourful, metal-clad projecting elements. Ground floor uses are commercial and recreational, many associated with the student housing. Between the blocks are landscaped spaces which have a semi-private feel, giving this area something of the atmosphere of a campus rather than an integrated piece of city fabric. Drayton Park Much of the Victorian built fabric remains intact consisting of parallel rows of terraced red-brick 2-story houses. Student quarter Drayton Park Design & Access Statement . page 10 Site Analysis - Character Areas Local ‘character areas’ - continued St Mary Magdalene Conservation Area LB of Islington describe the conservation area as ‘of special architectural and historic interest, with a character and appearance that is worthy of protection and enhancement.’ The London Metropolitan University campus borders the conservation area in some locations, and several university buildings fall within this designated area. However the site of the existing J-Block building does not fall within the conservation area, nor does it directly face onto it. London Metropolitan University Campus A mixture of historic and modern buildings characterised by large floor plates reflecting their educational use. Historic buildings are mainly brick with an industrial character, though some have more elaborate elevational treatment. The most prominent historic building is the Great Hall built in 1897 (now 'The Rocket') which faces onto Holloway Road. A number of contemporary buildings are architecturally distinctive. The Tower Building at London Met University is the most prominent on the Holloway Road. Built in the Brutalist style, as with many buildings of its time, it divides opinion between those who see it as a concrete monstrosity and those who appreciate it as a example building of this design period. however, the clarity of the original design has been lost by later additions, such as the Technology Tower which was grafted onto its northern side in 2000.