The Public Realm and Urban Design: Practice and Implementation REDEVELOPMENT IN BIRMINGHAM seeking to establish itself as a major The establishment of the new Department European centre. of Planning and Architecture at There they forged a new approach to the LOCAL PLANS Birmingham City Council in 1990 was one development of central Birmingham, an manifestation of the Council's commitment approach that should turn the city around to Urban Design. It followed closely on from being a place for cars to becoming a AND URBAN the Birmingham Urban Design Study place for people. The central issue was the (BUDS) completed by Francis Tibbalds in Inner Ring Road. This dual carriageway DESIGN April 1990 which, itself, was a follow-up to circuit with its grade-separated junctions LDR's Open Space and Pedestrian and pedestrian subways had proved to be a Framework report of 1989. The creation of "concrete collar" around the central core of Centenary Square is the first product of this the city. Land and property values inside Les Sparks new approach to development in the collar soared, whilst outside it there was Birmingham. severe dereliction and lack of investment. For many years Birmingham had been Movement across the Inner Ring Road, associated with the now discredited either on foot or by car was severely methods of redevelopment practised in the impeded, and the long dark and dangerous 1960's and 70's. Renowned for pursuing pedestrian subways are simply intolerable. its objectives with a singular vigour, The American consultant. Don Birmingham built more residential tower Hilderbrandt of LDR, was at Highbury and blocks than any other city outside London, was subsequently commissioned by the completed its motorway style Inner Ring City Council to develop his ideas for the Road and ruthlessly swept away large areas Inner Ring Road. In his subsequent study of Victorian development to create those he proposed downgrading the capacity of renowned monuments to the period, the the road by the replacement of subways Bull Ring Shopping Centre, the Rotunda with "pelican crossings". He recommended office block, and the subterranean New that it be converted into a series of Street Station. boulevards, with widened pavements, tree planting, and direct access to new buildings THE HIGHBURY INITIATIVE fronting onto the road. Developing the All these developments lacked the rich Highbury philosophy, he prepared a new urban quality of the streets and the public framework of pedestrian routes through the and commercial buildings created in Joseph central core and across the Ring Road into Chamberlain's time. It was at the various and distinctive inner city Chamberlain's former mansion home, quarters surrounding it. Highbury, in 1988, that an international group of people from the arts, politics, and BIRMINGHAM URBAN DESIGN STUDY city planning met to review the state of The LDR study was complemented by the Birmingham City Centre and consider Urban Design Study carried out by Francis future options. Tibbalds. This set down a vocabulary of Les Sparks is an architect and town There they seized upon the key design principles for development in the planner and is the Director of Planning relationship between economic activity and City Centre, directed at making it safer, and Architecture at Birmingham City environmental quality. The aim was to more comfortable, convenient, attractive and more legible. Council. He was previously Director of create such an attractive environment in the City Centre that it drew further activity Birmingham is not an easy centre to Environmental Services to Bath City unto itself thereby creating a virtual upward "read". It does not have a major waterfront Council from 1980 to 1991 (during which spiral of enhanced economic activity and or a simple street pattern. Its geography time he was involved in the enhanced environmental quality - each has been further obscured by the intrusion establishment of the English Historic feeding off and reinforcing the other. Put of high buildings, by confusing subway Towns Forum) and before that was in these terms the question ceases to be systems, and by multi-level and decked Project Manager for Telford "can we afford to incur expenditure upon structures which obliterate the natural environmental improvements and quality" topography. Development Corporation's but rather, "can we afford not to do so"? The Urban Design Study identifies conservation programme in the Severn The answer was inescapable for a City important views and landmarks to be Gorge. reinforced in the pattern of new 33 URBAN DESIGN QUARTERLY APRIL 1993 The Public Realm and Urban Design: Practice and Implementation development. It makes the case for "gateway" buildings and buildings with strong architectural character on corner sites and junctions. It argues for new development to respect the city's natural topography, for high buildings to be located along the central ridge to identify the central core of the city, and for pedestrians to move about at ground level in preference to decks and subways. REA VALLEY Tibbalds deplored those developments JEWELLERY COLMORE ROW QUARTER CONSERVATION GENERALLY which present a blank wall or car park CONSERVATION AREA GENERALLY 2-4 STOREYS grilles at ground floor level, and called for AREA 4-6 STOREYS GENERALLY active uses both to enrich the pedestrian 2-4 STOREYS CITY CORE RIDGE GENERALLY environment and enhance the informal UP TO 8 STOREYS, SOME TALL "policing" of the street. He also called for BUILDINGS IN STRATEGIC LOCA- the re-establishment of an urban structure TIONS in the form of streets and squares. Post-war redevelopments had generally ignored the street, siting new high rise buildings within cleared sites and surrounded by open spaces which are uncomfortable and unattractive - neither intimate and sheltered nor imposing and grand. The study shows £S> how many of these spaces can be a NEW developed, reclaiming the land to beneficial TOWN GUN U ASTON \\ use and re-establishing the lost geometry of QUARTER n TRIANGLE * the city's streets and "outdoor rooms". Open spaces should be threaded along % J, pedestrian routes, designed to create a JEWELLERY comfortable microclimate, and enriched a QUARTER - with attractive paving, planting, lighting and public art. USUSTPAULS!TT PAULSFPAULSfH l N^ CURZON The Urban Design Study also identifies STREET many opportunities for reinforcing the ^ a CITY $ particular character and identity of CORE Birmingham, and the distinctiveness of the various quarters surrounding the central % core-. Foremost amongst these M opportunities is the extensive network of QUARTER ^ r^CHINESEvtfnciGBETH canals threading their way through and around the City Centre. Largely hidden & ^ ^OLLIDAtfMj ~TS U from public view behind decaying UOVWOOOQ QUARTER^ QL industrial buildings, these waterways represent the City's greatest opportunity, together with the conservation of a wealth of fine Victorian architecture, to transform „ LEE BANK ^ Q HIGHGATE Birmingham's image in the eyes of the ^ 0 world. 0 LOCAL PLANS The Unitary Development Plan for the City makes broad reference to the objectives in the Urban Design Study set within the overall strategy for the City Centre. This 34 URBAN DESIGN QUARTERLY APRIL 1993 Local Plans and Urban Design strategy envisages the expansion of central area activities beyond the Inner Ring Road, permeating the surrounding quarters out to the Middle Ring Road. It sets out the Metro station-relate scale new built form programme for enhanced public transport, and form to locality to match existing including a new light rail system - and the complementary restraint of motor traffic. It makes the case for a diversification of activities in the City Centre, particularly the skyline feature and public open growth of leisure activities, hotels, and space at Hockley Centre residential accommodation to maintain a city centre population around the clock and reverse the post-war trend towards a new development 6.00pm "curfew" when the shops and with corner feature offices close down. In general terms the UDP strategy is directed at attracting people and activities back into an expanding City Centre. Specifically in relation to Urban Design, the UDP contains the following statement : "In general terms development should : (a) Reflect the scale, massing, materials, height and density of buildings which are specific to that locality, and which emphasise the unique characteristic of the various quarters in the City Centre. In some special circumstances high rise development providing a landmark building of exceptional architectural quality may be appropriate. These should be limited in number and restricted to those locations necessary to orientate or terminate key views. (b) Be human in scale and capable of incremental construction thereby <>J avoiding monolithic redevelopment. link to Great (c) Emphasise and where appropriate Charles Street reinstate street frontages. Ground floor activity consistent with a pedestrian gateway buildings environment should incorporate lively gateway feature mixed uses but strictly avoid car parking fronting the street. Corner features should link to Civic Centre be developed as markers and should help opportunity for restore frontage feature buildings/ link to Convention Centre area to define the street boundary. new space to Sand pits landmarks (d) Reflect and reinforce the natural topography of the City Centre, emphasising the City Core and the ridge which runs from Five Ways through to Extracts from Birmingham Design Study