TOTTENHAM REGENERATION: THE ART OF THE REAL


UNIT BRIEF
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY 2013

Introduction

The studio will investigate Tottenham following the riots of 2011. We will be asking what role architecture played; did it cause the riots or was architecture just a background and rioting was caused by other factors such as inequality and economic deprivation? Why did the riots occur in a city that was spending millions on regeneration projects in anticipation for the London Olympic Games?
Can architecture play a role in the transformation of Tottenham? Over the past fifty years the good intentions of modernist town planners in France, the United Kingdom and the United States involved in urban renewal and ‘slum’ clearances have been seen by local populations as a tool of racist oppression. The planning process has been misunderstood by the people it affects. The local people did not feel included in the debate about their city.

Architecture is involved in huge forces of technocratic and bureaucratic power to further the agenda of powerful political groups and wealthy individuals and companies. On the other hand it stands and falls by how it gets its stories across. The studio will be involved in listening to the stories that exist in the streets. We will be involved in creating new stories and creating a new dialogue.

The Key Questions

We will discuss the following questions to help us during our journey:
1. What new tools and strategies can we use to strengthen the economic, physical and social vitality of Tottenham?
2. How can design interventions and strategies be more valuable in the long term?
3. How can architecture help local entrepreneurship strengthen both the economic and social vitality of a neighbourhood?
4. How can the architect play a role both as a storyteller and a story listener? Can we write another story into the history of Tottenham?
5. What are the opportunities for housing and self build and community build?
6. How can ideas for food production; energy production; recycling and a CO2 friendly city create opportunities for wealth and job creation in Tottenham?

The Sustainable City

The unit will be looking at the various aspects of The Sustainable City. We believe economic sustainability including job and wealth creation is the most important aspect to the sustainable city in the context of Tottenham.
The aim will be to understand how architecture can support economic activity by creating new mixed use centres; different types of retail offer; better housing; better defined public spaces; creative hubs; community centres with the possibility of creating a new administrative centre for Tottenham. The centre would house a regeneration agency (part of Haringey Council) embedded in the community that is responsible for regeneration and local community issues.

The studio will also investigate at small scale interventions such as streets becoming stores and markets, where cars can be repaired and sold and restaurants can be set up; playgrounds being used for the production of compost and food, with surplus production sold on the local markets; private homes, originally designed only for living, are adapted by the owners to provide extra space for work activities; businesses that might otherwise avoid or leave the area due to a lack of space remain. We will research the local planning conditions and rules and review if special zoning regulations or neighbourhood policies can be relaxed to enhance economic activity. Would the creation of a Special Economic Block where planning policies are modified, help to stimulate economic activity, regeneration and create jobs in the heart of Tottenham?

We will also be looking at the environmental opportunities as a way to stimulate economic activity and improve the local environment. The new Tottenham Regeneration Agency would develop principles to serve as guidelines for development. Residents in the area would take ownership of these principles and use them as a platform for a public ‘policy’, a development practice, urban planning, and the general design of Tottenham. The principles concern health and satisfaction, cultural identity and cohesion, equality and fair trade, and sustainable mobility and infrastructure.

Other environmental principles that could be adopted include the following:

1. Water management: Water is part of Tottenham’s history, what are the opportunities for making this more evident in the built environment? How can water be more sustainably managed, through sustainable drainage and greywater recycling, wetlands and creation of neighbourhood living machines? What are the opportunities to make better recreation spaces? Can a new network of green spaces that link to the park be created through the urban area?
2. Local and sustainable food: There are several large allotments can we build and extend these enterprises, are there opportunities for enterprise and employment.
3. Minimising waste: local recycling systems
4. Sustainable Transport: looking at the proximity of transport systems and how these could be improved. What types of transport is available and what are the possibilities for better public transport and cycling routes.
5. Sustainable construction and carbon neutral development.

Research Methodology

The first weeks of the studio will focus on research which will focus on the following:
1. Looking at the relevant planning documents that affect the study area such as core strategies, adopted plans and The London Plan.
2. Reviewing the GLA documents including the report by Stuart Lipton: ‘It took another Riot’.
3. Review Tottenham in relation to the greater London region.
4. Review relevant data from Haringey Council, the Census and the Office of National Statistics on population density and age distribution (by ward); population projections; employment hotspots and demographics in Tottenham.
5. Review relevant data on areas of high crime and areas of high unemployment.
6. Review data on levels of economic activity (and location) and areas of deprivation (by ward).
7. Review of old maps and photographs of the area. This can continue when we visit the site visiting local museums such as The Bruce Castle Museum http://www.haringey.gov.uk/haringey_history_toolkit.pdf
8. Analysis of physical structure of the area including: location of stations and infrastructure; location of derelict buildings and empty sites; location and quality of parks and public spaces; quality of the housing and types of housing; locations of listed buildings; location of shops; shopping centres; offices and schools.

The outcomes of these first few weeks will be drawings and diagrams plotting all of the above giving everyone a fine grained understanding of the site prior to the site visit on the 29.10.13.

During the site visit there will be an emphasis on immersing oneself in the site, a process of acquiring knowledge through walking, talking to people and observing the rhythms of daily life. This is a type of anthropological/sociological study looking at more fine grained understandings of people and place. The creative and interpretive possibilities of mixing methods, lens, data sets and perspectives will influence the acts of design and intervention.

Following the site visit the process of design will begin which will focus on our theme of ‘The Art of The Real’. We will be encouraging a creative response to the data and site visit looking at addressing the real issues that exist on the site and writing a design brief for a building or buildings that help support regeneration.

Second Semester

At the completion of the first semester each student will have chosen a site for further development in the second semester. The project should engage in a dialogue with Tottenham and contribute to the creation of new sense of place.
The building type will be chosen following the research and what we feel is appropriate for the different sites in Tottenham. As described in the sections above the building types are likely to be:
1. An new administrative centre/ community centre which could include a library, health centre and recreation facilities plus civic space. This space should include spaces for youth representation.
2. New housing types including retail/mixed use and live/work spaces and mixed tenure.
3. Ideas for different retail interventions.
4. A creative hub for small businesses.
All of the typologies to include ideas for surrounding streets; landscape and sustainable design plus well defined public spaces.

Summary

The studio aims to help students engage with ‘real’ and relevant issues with a focus on community engagement and immersion in the site. Although this is not a typical way architecture is taught we believe that through this process the students will be much better equipped both now and in their future careers to tackle the key issues of how architecture can contribute to ‘sustainable’ development. In the context of Tottenham this includes better engagement with local authorities and government agencies; more local jobs; a better, more varied and affordable retail offer and leisure facilities and better quality housing.

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