DAS

DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT CASTLE PARK, BRISTOL INTEGRATED PRACTICE STUDIO MODULE JOEL GATI 16007696

DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT FOR INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

SITE CONTEXT + ANALYSIS ANALYSIS

MASTERPLAN OF THE SITE DESIGN

APPEARANCE APPEARANCE

ACCESS + MOVEMENT ACCESS

REFERENCES + BIBLIOGRAPHY REFERENCES

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26 27 28

31 32

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ABOUT BRISTOL POLICY BACKGROUND

MATERIAL STUDY LIGHTING/SHADOW SCALE

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CASTLE PARK OVERVIEW

ACCESS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DIAGRAMS

12 13 14 15 16

PROPOSAL DESIGN PRECEDENTS FORM USE USEFUL DRAWINGS

OVERVIEW REFERENCE

CASTLE PARK, BRISTOL DEVELOPMENT

PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT This Design and Access Statement (DAS), prepared by Joel Gati for the proposed development in the Centre of Bristol. Using policies such as the Bristol Core Strategy, National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the Bristol City Area Plan, this DAS aims to support the planning application of the building proposal on Castle Park.

INTRODUCTION ABOUT BRISTOL

Bristol is located in the South West of the UK. The River Avon runs through Bristol leading through the Avon Gorge where it meets the city centre. Castle Park (also known as Castle Green) is a public open space in Bristol, England, managed by Bristol City Council. It is bounded by the Floating Harbour and Castle Street to the south, Lower Castle Street to the east, and Broad Weir, Newgate and Wine Street to the north. The ruined tower of St Mary Le Port Church stands to the west of the park, and in the middle of the selected site for development.

BRISTOL

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BRISTOL 1. Avonmouth 2. Henbury, Southmead 3. Henleaze, Stoke Bishop 4. Horfield, Lockleaze 5. Greater Fishponds

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6. Bishopston, Redland 7. Cabot, Clifton 8. Easton, Lawrence Hill 9. St. George Neighbourhood 10. Greater Bedminster

11. Filwood, Windmill Hill 12. Brislington 13. Dundry View 14. Hengrove, Stockwood

INTRODUCTION POLICY BACKGROUND

Planning Policy Statement

Bristol Central Area Plan

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This section responds to the policies in which the masterplan has been based on.

For the development of the selected area and proposed building, the following planning documents were taken in consideration: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), Bristol Development Framework (BDF), Bristol Core Strategy, Bristol Local Plan and Bristol Central Area Plan.

The proposed site is included in the Bristol Central Area Plan as an significant potential area for change (Chapter 9, opening paragraphs, and section 9.3). The proposed development follows the goals and vision of the Bristol Local Development Framework.

According to The development of a number of sites bordering Castle Park presents opportunities to enhance the park and regenerate its surroundings. St. Mary-lePort Redevelopment of the out-dated and underused buildings on the site would significantly enhance the area. It could allow for reinstatement of some of the historic street layout and provide a strong link between the Bristol Shopping Quarter area and St Nicholas’ Market. The site’s location means it would be suitable for a variety of uses within a mixed-use development (Bristol Central Area Plan, 2015).

The Central Area Plan explores how Bristol City Centre plan to develop over the next 15 years. High Street, Wine Street and Castle Park area, which is one of six ‘city centre places’ of strategic importance that have been identified for change.

National Planning Policy Framework

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Achieving sustainable social objective – to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by ensuring that a sufficient number and range of homes can be provided to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by fostering a welldesigned and safe built environment, with accessible services and open spaces that reflect current and future needs and support communities’ health, social and cultural wellbeing.

Promoting healthy and safe communities 91.

Planning policies and decisions should aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places My proposed masterplan for the Castle Park area aims to promote social interaction, including opportunities for meetings between people who might not otherwise come into contact with each other through the building proposal.

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For example, through mixed-use developments, strong neighbourhood centres, street layouts that allow for easy pedestrian and cycle connections within and between neighbourhoods, and active street frontages.

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It also enables and supports healthy lifestyles, especially where this would address identified local health and wellbeing needs through the provision of safe and accessible sports facilities.

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Based on the Improvement Project Consultation feedback document, all comments received about lighting were in favour of upgrading the lighting in the park particularly around the mounds.

Lighting is an important aspect to safety in the park, especially in winter. The proposal aims to improve this to encourage people to use the park and increase safety.

Vision 2026

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The Old City will be enhanced as the city’s cultural and historic heart, with growth in independent retail at St. Nicholas’ Market and St. Mary-le-Port. The impact of traffic will be reduced so that streets are opened up for the city’s residents, businesses and visitors to use and enjoy.

The 20:20 plan Bristol’s Sustainable City Strategy Aims

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Reduce Health & Wealth Inequality 2. Raising the aspiration and achievement of our children, young people and families 3. Making our Prosperity Sustainable 4. A city of Strong and Safe Communities

Community Members

The community members of Castle Park could benefit very much from the introduction of the Castle park leisure centre. Between 2019 and 2020, the percentage of the public in good health has decreased by 14% after rising by 11% in the previous year (Bristol Quality of Life survey, 2019) The development proposal for Castle park includes plans of pedestrianising both Wine street and High street to reduce the use of cars in the attempt to improve air quality and public health.

Private Business Local businesses would highly benefit from this too as it allows people to walk past their stores where they would traditionally drive past without any physical interaction. Additionally, 77% report traffic congestion as a problem locally, the same proportion as are concerned about “air quality and traffic pollution locally”.

The development promotes the use of sustainable transport.

The NPPF states that Transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals so that opportunities to promote walking, cycling and public transport use are identified and pursued (National Planning Policy Framework, 2019). In the hopes of getting the public to use more active forms of transportation, new bike shelters and cycle lanes will be introduced to encourage cycling. This is also part of the City’s sustainable travel vision for 2026.

Local Government Finally, for the local government, there will be a reduction in unemployment rates for the city of Bristol as the development proposal offers many new job opportunities. This is beneficial for the local government as is means reduced funding towards the unemployment benefits. Local citizen has already expressed their desire for more leisure centres/facilities which is reflected in the qualityof-life survey. Between 2019 and 2020, the percentage of the public satisfied with leisure facilities/services has reduced by 4% after increasing by 8% in the previous year (National Planning Policy Framework, 2019).

Bristol residents must develop an active lifestyle and reduce car dependency to reduce the obesity rate. An additional indicator to note is that almost half of Bristol residents are overweight or obese (National Planning Policy Framework, 2019).

Danish architect Jan Gehl thinks, “We can easily make cities where you don’t need individual cars for each individual’s transportation.” (Bramley E, 2014)

Lastly, it’s important to note that those whom a policy is targeted at, may not respond in the manner anticipated. Citizens have filled out The European Quality of Life survey (EQLS) which examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives, and how they feel about those circumstances, and their lives in general. It looks at a range of issues, such as employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work-life balance (European Quality of Life Survey - data.gov.uk, 2021).

Based on these results, architects and planners design to meet their needs. The proposed design has been design based on what the citizens of Bristol have requested.

ANALYSIS CASTLE PARK

Bristol City is a historic city with many heritage buildings that go back all the way to the world war. Through the ages of the Norman castle in Castle Park to the gothic masterpiece of Bristol Cathedral, Bristol provides a real picturesque view for its visitors.

The St Mary Le Port Church and St Peter’s Church are evidence of the blitz raid that happened in 1940’s. Before the obliteration, Castle park was a densely packed area of medieval and after buildings, which was redeveloped at Broadmead after the war.

St Nicholas is a church located on St Nicholas Street. The church was amongst the bombed areas that took place in the second world war and rebuilt in 1974–1975 as a church museum.

ST NICHOLAS CHURCH

ST PETER’S CHURCH

ST MARY LE PORT CHURCH

BRIDGES

73.5%

Bristol adults are physically active, significantly higher than the national average (67.2%)

T R A N S P O R TAT I O N A N D H E A LT H I N B R I S TO L o

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54.8% Adults in Bristol that are overweight or obese

22.2% Young children in Bristol (4/5 years old) that are overweight or obese

Numbers who report being in good health (87%) is actually similar to last year (and is 73% in the most deprived areas, similar to last year).

11.35% Residents that cycle to work

working age residents were employed in the 12 months ending December 2019, a rate of 3.9% which is the same as the UK Level and lowest of the British Cities

Less than half of Bristol Residents travel to work by car with the majority traveling by public transport, walking or cycling.

1/3 of households do not have access to a car.

Bristol has a very high level of walking and cycling compared to other UK cities. In 2011, more people in Bristol commuted to work by bicycle or on foot than in any other local authority in England.

11.35% o

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10,100 48%

Residents volunteer or help out in their community at least 3 times a year

The number of people cycling to work in Bristol has increased to

77% report traffic congestion as a problem locally, the same proportion as are concerned about “air quality and traffic pollution locally”.

40%

satisfied with leisure facilities/services

35%

satisfied with activities for children/young people

COMMUNITY AND LIVING o

80% of residents are satisfied with their local area

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63% of residents feel they belong to their neighbourhood

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Rates of people whose day to day life is affected by fear of crime increased to 16%, but is 35% in the most deprived areas of the city (QoL 2019).

ANALYSIS OVERVIEW

OPPORTUNITIES LOCATION The site is in a prime location by being so close to the floating harbour and within close proximity to Bristol City centre. It’s located on the largest urban green space in Bristol and is one of the few remaining undeveloped site near the floating harbour. Its proximity to the centre increases the amount of possible visitors/users.

MARKETS AND PEDESTRIANISED AREAS WATER EDGE

PEDESTRIANISATION The Guardian paper revealed Bristol’s scheme to turn part of Bristol’s historic centre into a pedestrian-only zone within months has been set out as part of plans to change how people get around the city.

TOPOGRAPHY Bristol is a city known for not only its historical context but for its topographical ground. The Castle park site is an example of an area that has different levels that can possibly be used in the design of proposed building.

WATERFRONT LOCATION The water front is arguably the most exciting part of the site. It will be nice to see how the waterfront can be implemented into the design of the proposed building in the attempt to help with the users health.

It provides many health, mental and physical benefits.

CHARACTER The thought of merging both the historical elements of the city with the new, modern side of the city can create a unique emerging design for the centre of Bristol. This will preserve the historic character of Bristol.

WALKING AND CYCLING INFRASTRCUTURE

BRIDGES

CONSTRAINTS BUSY ROADS The existing major roads are extremely congested even though the city is known for its cycle route. During rush hours the roads can get very busy which isn’t good for the environment or our health. The proposal seeks to implement more cycle routes and walking infrastructure for the users to use on a daily basis.

FLOODING The river Avon isn’t far from the site so its important to highlight the possible flood risk of the area. Its important to consider flooding in the design of the proposed building and site. The use of Sustainable urban drainage systems may be useful

DESIGN

PROPOSAL

BIG IDEA The vision for the Castle Park site is to utilise the space that is in need of a redevelopment to create a distinct urban space that encourages and allows the community to workout and stay active. The vision and proposed idea accomplishes physical, social and environmental goals for the area helping it reach its top potentials as one of the greenest city in UK

FUNDING A publicly funded development creates an easy funding scheme and therefore can be regarded as the most suitable development strategy.

Publicly owned facilities have recently become more popular in major cities with evidence of rapid growth in an attempt to overtake private operators (The Leisure Database Company, 2021). In the UK, financing from banks is the most common source of funding for public businesses, with possible government funding within legislation guidelines. In 2020, Ukactive announced a contribution of £100m to be made for public leisure funding from the government as part of essential support concerning COVID-19 (Ukactive, 2020). These investments undoubtably contribute to a flourishing level of health benefits within local communities across the country.

ACTIVITY HEALTH

CASTLE PARK

EXCERCISE

PROPOSAL The proposal for the site is to create a healthy workout space that provides facilities to exercise, eat and relax.

These facilities will be provided to users in the form of a gym, restaurant and a mini spa compacted into one building. “To live a healthy lifestyle, you must look after the exterior as well as the interior of your body,” this ideology is the underpinning concept of the user purpose to the proposed building.

PHYSICAL GYM

HEALTHY DIET

SPA

SOCIAL ACTIVITY

MENTAL

NATURE

SOCIALISE OUTDOOR

DESIGN

DESIGN PRECEDENTS

These are the different precedents that helped me design the building proposal for Castle park. These are some other useful precedents: America Cup Building, Ekiraya School and Train Shed in Esbjerg with Streetmekka.

Broadgate Circle

creation of overhangs, balconies, outside spaces

Diane Dufresne de Repentigny Art Center creation of outside spaces

Broadgate Circle The Broadgate Circle in Liverpool Street, London is a fundamental design precedent that looks to promote social wellbeing. The idea of implementing the broad gate concept into my design will encourage people to socialise around the historic St. Mary le port.

The Circle proposal is linked closely with the idea of having a colonnade to invite users into the space and out into the circle.

Diane Dufresne de Repentigny Art Centre The Art Centre in Repentigny, Canada is precedent that aim to improve social cohesion in the centre of Bristol. The art centre’s overall form helps attract residents with a carefully positioned colonnade in front of a calm reflecting pool. The idea of using a colonnade will provide a connecting between the exterior (plaza) and interior space. The users can walk through the exterior colonnade, which also functions as an open-air space or they can enter the interiors.

DESIGN

FORM

The following diagrams show the process work of how the form of the building came about. The original rounded space creates the opportunity for the additional wedges to be attached to the side of the round spaces expanding the whole mass of the building. The added wedges can be used as spaces for circulation and the circular space can be used as the actual use of the building.

DESIGN

USE

MENTAL WELLBEING – PRIVATE USE The top floor of the building will provide spaces that aim to improve users wellbeing. Facilities like swimming pools, spa room and treatment room are all provided for private use. Private users are those that hold a membership.

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2 Swimming pools Male Toilet Female Toilet 2 Treatment Rooms First Aid room Sauna and Steam room

PHYSICAL WELLBEING – PRIVATE USE The middle floor is most likely going to be the most commonly used floor as it it will be used to improve the physical wellbeing of users.

With a free weight section as well as a cardio area for both male and female to workout simultaneously. With access to changing rooms that contain showers and toilets for post workout sessions.

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Cardio area Studio workout space Free weights Area Male Toilet Female Toilet Restaurant

RETAIL FLOOR – PUBLIC USE The bottom floor is public open use space that has a variety of retail stores. The bottom floor provide access to the different floors as well as the communal area in the middle of the site near the St Mary Le Port tower.

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4 Retail Stores Male Toilet Female Toilet Restaurant

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LOCATION PLAN 1:1250

GROUND FLOOR 1:500

FIRST FLOOR

1:500

SECOND FLOOR 1:500

Section

1:500

Section

1:500

APPEARANCE MATERIAL STUDY

STONE Near the side of St Nic’s market, there a good use of stone for the façade walls. The idea of using light coloured materials can be implemented into the design of the proposed building development.

MASIONARY The existing buildings on the south side of the side (across the river) uses red bricks for the exteriors of the buildings which relate to the historical context of the area.

In response to the historic red brick, high performance terra cotta rain screen is the primary exterior material for the proposed building development.

HYBRID Using both stone and terra cotta rain screen create a hybrid of old and new in relation to the current site context. The use of stone conserves the history of the war which is a sentimental part of the Castle park area.

Glass Curtain wall

concrete cladding terra cotta rainscreen

APPEARANCE LIGHTING / SHADOW

2 1 :0 0

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1 8 :0 0 0 9 :0 0

1 5 :0 0

1 2 :0 0

SUN DIAGRAM Diagram showing the progression of the sun, used to plan the lighting in the space and viewpoints.

APPEARANCE SCALE

2ND FLOOR - MINI SWIMMING POOL – 173m2 - OFFICE – 65m2 - TREATMENT ROOM – 145m2 - FIRST AID - 117m2 - TOILETS & CHANGING ROOMS - 138m2 - SWIMMING POOL - 317m2

EXISTING BUILDING HEIGHT: 30m

BUILDING HEIGHT: 10.5m

INNER CIRCLE RADIUS: 23.6m

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RESTAURANT - 489m2

1ST -

FLOOR ASSEMBLY SPACE - 163m2 OFFICE - 63m2 CARDIO AREA - 328m2 STUDIOS - 36m2 x2

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FREE WIEGHTS AREA – 387m2 TOILETS & CHANGING ROOMS - 138m2

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RESTAURANT - 489m2

0 FLOOR - RETAIL STORE 1 - 225m2 - RETAIL STORE 2 - 86m2 - RETAIL STORE 3 - 129m2 - TOILETS - 35m2 x2 - RETAIL STORE 4 - 492m2 - PLANT ROOM - 182m2

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RESTAURANT – 489m2

ACCESS

ACCESS

SITE ACCESS New forms tend tend to bring issues with accessibility and how the proposed layout promotes access for all users. As discussed, the site provides various access points from Cabot Circus, St Nicholas market and St peters Church side.

The space is also accessible from the middle communal area with entrances provided by the public use area on the bottom floor.

CABOT CIRCUS

ST PETER’S CHURCH

ST NICHOLAS’S MARKET WATER FRONT

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Megan, 23 Final year Sports science Student UOB Goes for runs every morning through Castle Park Having a gym and proper walking and cycling infrastructure in the park will encourage more people to keep fit like Megan every morning. Megan will also be given a chance to socialize with people her age group who also run every morning through the same route.

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Debbie, 31 and son Max, 12 Nurse Year 8 Debbie and her son Max use the park every week to go to Max’s school. Max is currently in year 8, but soon he will be able to go and come from school alone so this proposed development will create a use for the park making it safer for kids. Path lights will also be implemented to make Castle park a safer place to be.

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Rob, 67 Retired Gardener Voluntary gardener Rob lives around the corner from Castle park. Robs loves gardening and finds himself voluntarily doing gardening in different parks in Bristol. The redevelopment to castle park will mean that Rob can do what he loves best right next to his house. This will be beneficial to his health and physical wellbeing as it gives him something to do.

STONE The large glass panels shown in the diagram provide the space with efficient lighting during the day. It also provides the various spaces with a nice scenic view of Bristol city centre.

SOCIAL COHESION With the use of the colonnades and the Broadgate Circle idea, the plaza of which the St Mary Le Port church will provide the users with an area of which they can socialise. This will improve the social cohesion of the area. It will also encourage people to come out for fresh air. The building overlooks and provides surveillance for the plaza.

CIRCULATION The space has a generous amount of circulation space with a carefully considered room arrangement. All rooms have been designed to accommodate a good amount of people and furniture necessary for the space whilst allowing recommended manoeuvring space for wheelchair access.

LIGHTING The interior lighting design of the space will be energy efficient with glass panels maximising the amount of natural light that comes in and the rest with light bulbs. The use of skylights will be incorporated in certain spaces on the top floor.

OVERVIEW SUMMARY

Summary

Employment

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The introduction of the proposed design on the site will increase the number of proprietors created by the jobs and opportunities the development offers. One special vision for the city centre of Bristol is to successfully make a vibrant mixed-use city centre through the integration of safe residential communities carefully blended with businesses, shops, leisure and sport facilities (Bristol Central Area Plan, 2015). The new proposed development for the Castle park site offers jobs in the Gym, Restaurant and Spa and opportunities can include but not limited to personal training, chefs, cleaners, waiters, lifeguards, masseuses, and more. This vast range of new job opportunities aims to reduce unemployment rates in Bristol further down from 3.9% and solidify its position at the top of the British Core Cities in terms of lowest unemployment rates (State of Bristol, 2020).

The proposed Building aims to bring benefits to all health elements of Bristol. It also seeks to improve employment status’ of individuals in Bristol. All information is portrayed in the best interest of the design proposal to make Bristol a healthier and more active city.

Healthy Transport

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With the introduction of the new proposed building designed to help improve the health inequalities of area, there is a keen interest to reduce the amount of vehicle dominated roads. The Bristol government have already announced plans of pedestrianising Bristol bridge which will benefit the area dramatically. The pedestrianised route from St Nicholas will lead directly into the proposed site location. However, the idea of pedestrianising majority of the area might be objected by the Highway officers as it interrupts the flow of traffic around the park. As it stands, the site is heavily vehicle populated with people using the Bristol bridge to get to and from various places so pedestrianising both High street and Wine street may cause more traffic congestion.

REFERENCES REFERENCES

References • ArchDaily. 2021. Diane Dufresne de Repentigny Art Center / ACDF Architecture. [online] Available at: <https://www.archdaily.com/794017/diane-dufresne-de-repentigny-art-center-acdf-star> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• ArchDaily. 2021. Ekiraya School / Alejandro Uribe Cala. [online] Available at: <https://www.archdaily.com/889365/ekiraya-school-alejandro-uribe-cala> [Accessed 17 February 2021].

• ArchDaily. 2021. EFFEKT Wins Contest to Redevelop Abandoned Train Shed in Esbjerg with Streetmekka. [online] Available at: <https://www.archdaily.com/573713/effekt-wins-contest-to-redevelop-abandoned-train-shed-in-esbjergwith-streetmekka> [Accessed 17 February 2021].

• Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. 2019. National Planning Policy Framework. [online] Available at: <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/810197/NPPF_Fe b_2019_revised.pdf> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• Bristol.citizenspace.com. 2016. Castle Park Improvement Project Consultation. [online] Available at: <https://bristol.citizenspace.com/neighbourhoods/castle-park-improvement-project-2/results/castle-parkimprovement-project-feedback-report.pdf> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• Bristol.gov.uk. 2015. Bristol Central Area Plan. [online] Available at: <https://www.bristol.gov.uk/documents/20182/34540/BCAP%20Adopted%20March%202015%20%20Main%20Document%20&%20Annex%20-%20Web%20PDF.pdf/d05a0c22-ab91-4530-926a-f26160ab72a5> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• Bristol.gov.uk. 2019. Bristol Local Plan Review. [online] Available at: <https://www.bristol.gov.uk/documents/20182/34536/Local+Plan+Review++Draft+Policies+and+Development+Allocations+-+Web.pdf/2077eef6-c9ae-3582-e921-b5d846762645> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• Bristol.gov.uk. 2021. Bristol Development Framework Core Strategy. [online] Available at: <https://www.bristol.gov.uk/documents/20182/34540/Core+Strategy+WEB+PDF+(low+res+with+links)_0.pdf> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• Bristol.gov.uk. 2021. Bristol Quality of Life survey. [online] Available at: <https://www.bristol.gov.uk/documents/20182/33896/QoL+202021+Priority+Indicators+briefing+%28v3%29+final.pdf/370ede25-d890-f7f9-ae6c-08eb9d2639aa> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• Broadgate.co.uk. 2021. What's on at Broadgate Circle | Broadgate. [online] Available at: <https://www.broadgate.co.uk/event/whats-on-at-broadgate-circle> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• Lookingatbuildings.org.uk. 2021. Looking at Buildings: St Mary le Port. [online] Available at: <http://www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk/cities/bristol/bristol-churches/st-mary-le-port.html> [Accessed 15 February 2021].

• EPR Architects. 2021. Cavendish Square • Projects • EPR Architects. [online] Available at: <https://www.epr.co.uk/projects/architects-competitions/cavendish-square/> [Accessed 17 February 2021].

• ukactive. 2020. ukactive welcomes £100m public leisure fund from Government as part of essential support for sector | ukactive. [online] Available at: <https://www.ukactive.com/news/ukactive-welcomes-100m-public-leisure-fund-fromgovernment-as-part-of-essential-support-for-sector/> [Accessed 15 February 2021].