hoxton square

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HOXTON

SQUARESTUDY AREA

BU1 Transforming local areas: Urban Design for Development

Susana Arellano Alvarado, Christine S. Ascott , Debeshi Chakraborty, Elizabeth Cowan, Ders Csaba,

Melissa Garcia Lamarca, Ailbhe Gerrard, Su En Jung, Regan Koch , Panagiota Syrrothanasi, Pooja

Varma.

Second submission: Development brief for Shoreditch

March 24th, 2009

DEVELOPMENT BRIEF


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01_Introduction

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00_ Table of contents

01_Introduction

1.1_Terms of reference

1.2_Setting out the physical and socio-economic context

1.3_Summary of policy and planning framework

02_Area analysis

2.1_Urban design characteristics

2.2_Spatial constraints and opportunities

03_Objectives, vision and design principles

3.1_Objectives

3.2_Urban design principles

04_Detailes development strategy

05_Phasing

06_Conclusion


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01_Introduction

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the physical and socio-economic context plus

the key policy and planning frameworks affecting

the HSSA. Section two focuses on seven spatialelements and design characteristics of the study

area, highlighting the HSSAs spatial opportunities

and constraints.

Building off these two sections, section three

outlines the specic objectives, vision and urban

design principles for the HSSA. Section four sets

out the strategy for achieving the vision, providing

guidelines and concrete interventions for realising

the objectives and implementing the urban design

principles. Phasing, section ve, denes three

broad stages towards implementing the strategy

for the study area. Finally, section six provides

conclusions, including key elements to consider in

carrying the brief forward.

This development brief focuses on the Hoxton

Square Study Area (HSSA) within the assigned

Shoreditch study areas (Figure 1.1) with an aimto provide guidance to a professional team on the

types of development appropriate for the HSSA. It

is built off a comprehensive urban analysis of the

three study areas undertaken from mid January

to end of February 2009, whose methodology

included site visits and secondary research

sources. Key policy and planning issues and the

physical, socio-economic and spatial aspects of

the HSSA were drawn from this research, informing

the composition of the objectives, vision, design

principles, development strategy and selected

development sites.

The brief consists of six sections, with this rst

introductory section dening the terms of reference,

01_Introduction

Figure 1.1

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1.1_Terms of reference

Our terms of reference are dened as follows:

To draw upon the comprehensive urbananalysis as a basis for formulating this

development brief with a specic focus on

the HSSA;

To prioritise particular characteristics, with

crime prevention through environmental

design (CPTED) as an overall objective;

To maintain, strengthen, improve, upscale

and modify these characteristics through

detailing the objectives, vision, designprinciples and development strategies;

To ensure that the brief covers the urban

structure, access and public realm,

illustrated through interventions covering

building and open space development sites;

and

To outline briey outline short, medium

and long-term phasing and conclusions,

highlighting elements to be considered inmoving the brief forward.

Hackney has a long history of suffering relative

economic disadvantage compared to the rest of

London although in recent years its economy has

grown more quickly than the rest of London, withstrong growth demonstrated in the service sector

(Hackney, 2004). Figures from 2004-2005 showed

that Hackney Borough had a higher percentage of

unemployed and economically inactive people in

conjunction with a lower percentage of employed

residents than the regional and national average

(UK National Statistics, 2001; Hackney, 2004).

Hackney residents earn the second lowest hourly

rate in inner London, although the number of

residents gaining qualications is increasing in

recent years (Hackney, 2004).

The socio-economic data for the study area reects

a sharp divide between areas in the north and

south of HSSA. Hackney is ranked rst as the

most deprived borough in England, with the area

in the north of the HSSA within the 10% of the

most deprived wards in the country (UK National

Statistics, 2001). Residents here are largely

classed as struggling families, directly contrasting

with the inhabitants who live around and south of

Hoxton Square classed as dynamic couples and

singles (Hackney, 2004), as illustrated in Figure1.2. Regarding tenure, social rent is markedly

high in the area north of Hoxton Square, reecting

the prevalence of social housing estates, while

private rent and ownership is markedly higher is

the south of HSSA (Figure 1.3). The proportion

of socially rented housing has dropped in recent

years, perhaps a sign of gentrication and poorer

households being forced out (Hackney, 2006).

Finally, there is a signicantly high population

density of residents over 65 in the northern part

of HSSA and particularly low number of residentsaged 0-19 in the southern area (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.2

1.2_Setting out the physical and

socio-economic context

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Figure 1.3

Figure 1.4

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1.3_Summary of policy and planning

framework

The key contextual planning and policy framework

issues relating to the HSSA were reviewed and

assessed at the London Level (Greater London

Authority) and Hackney Borough Council scalesrespectively.

The London Plans strategic priorities for

East London include:

Identifying opportunities for employment,

housing and appropriate mixed use

development;

Promoting retailing, services, employment,

leisure and housing;

Delivering transport infrastructure, including

public transport, walking and cycling

connections and

Ensuring that social and community

infrastructure is retained, enhanced and

expanded where needed (GLA, 2004: 242).

Bishopsgate/South Shoreditch (35 ha) is identied

as an Opportunity Area with 16,000 planned new

jobs by 2016 and 800 new homes (GLA, 2004:

252). The Plan recognises that the Eastern City

Fringe (containing Shoreditch) contains both some

of Londons most deprived inner city communities

as well as afuent new quarters. Shoreditch is also

recognised as a strategically important commercial

and cultural attraction along with Spitalelds and

Brick Lane (GLA, 2004: 247).

At the Borough level, the strategic policy context

is primarily framed by the Core Strategy report, tobe released in the spring of 2009. In April 2008,

the Preferred Policy Options (Hackney, 2008)

set out a series of 44 key proposals for change

and development over the next 15 years. South

Shoreditch is specically identied as a key

opportunity area, largely due to its location on

the fringe of the City of London and its increasing

importance as a cultural and nightlife centre

juxtaposed with large concentrations of residential

neighborhoods characterised by socio-economic

deprivation. Specically, policy option number 44is aimed at strengthening the areas position as a

major destination characterised by historic heritage

and identity, good transport links and role within the

local economy by:

A managed approach to the northward

expansion of the City of London through

supporting its nancial and business

sectors;

Ensuring the conservation and enhancement

of the historic environment;

Supporting development opportunities to

realise London Plan targets for new jobs

and homes;

Applying the highest urban design standards

to all new developments;

Enhancing the unique characters of the

area and

Encouragement of mixed-uses and

sustainable development and regeneration

(Hackney, 2008).

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01_Introduction

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02_Area analysis

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2.1_Urban design characteristics

Spatial analyses were carried out for the threeareas in the Shoreditch study site, to understand

the following seven urban design characteristics:

Urban grain/block structure

Open space systems

Urban mix/uses

Access

Massing/density

Building characteristics/typology and

Landmarks, signicant buildings and view

corridors.

The following section highlights the ndings for the

Hoxton Square Study Area (HSSA) in the above

areas, with information focused on the spatial

constraints and opportunities.

2.2_Spatial constraints and

opportunities

Urban grain/ block structure

Developments post-World War Two in the HSSA

have limited permeability and are based on very

large block structures (Figure 2.1), with a course

grain structure at the micro level. The large area

occupied by the estates in the north of the HSSA

are misleading when looking at the map, as the

building structure reveals a great deal of open spaceat the ground level while in reality there are many

physical and perceived barriers hindering access.

Opportunities exist to open up impermeable areas

through improved signposting, lighting, tree/hedge

grooming and barrier removal. There is strong

potential for vertical and horizontal integration in

the north of the HSSA, where examples from the

more vibrant areas in the south side could provide

inspiration on how mixed uses at the ground oor

make for more active and lively spaces.

02 _Area analysis

+

_

Figure 2.1

Block

Size

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Open space systems

Generally, open spaces in the HSSA are not a well-

connected system of good quality public realm,

usable by all sections of society including the

deprived, elderly and disabled. Twenty-ve percent

of the study area is categorised as open space,

although a diverse mix of open space typologies

is lacking on the site (Figure 2.2). Small narrow

streets provide access to Hoxton Square, giving it

poor visual connectivity and physical connection,

while several open spaces adjacent to the square

are underutilised partly due to the poor connectivity

with the square itself. Open spaces surrounding one

of the housing estates analysed, Royal Oak Court,

is not used by local residents and is inaccessible.

This plus the fact that most natural/green spaces

are poorly maintained and of an uneven quality are

characteristics reected in open space observed on

other housing estates in the HSSA. Opportunitiesexist in building off existing strengths in open

spaces, improving quality, increasing diversity and

enhancing connectivity.

Urban mix / use

As illustrated in Figure 2.3, the majority of land use

in the HSSA is residential (20%), ofce (15%) and

educational buildings (10%) (Hackney Borough

Council, 2009). The area around and south of

Hoxton Square is primarily mixed use, with many

micro-creative businesses and cultural industries.

The spillover effect of the large nighttime economy

of bars and clubs in Hoxton Square has negative

consequences on the surrounding residences. The

north end of HSSA is predominantly residential,

with a high preponderance of social housing andlow-end commercial uses. Opportunities exist to

extend Hoxton Market westwards and to maximise

commercial and employment opportunities for the

local community.

Figure 2.2

Figure 2.3

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Access

The HSSA overall has a good central location with

high connectivity to public transportation corridors,

which will be even further improved with the

upcoming London overground line, although there

is poor west to east connectivity for both motorised

transport and pedestrian movement. The Shoreditch

area lacks cycle lanes despite the borough having

one of the highest levels of cycling in London (Fig

2.4). Local public transport networks are difcult to

use because of the nature of the street design, and

there is a lack of good signage to indicate ones

location or the nearest transportation route. The

quality and size of sidewalks are poor especially

in the area around Hoxton Square, where they are

too narrow for the number of people using them at

certain times of day. On the north side of the HSSA,

the morphology of the estates creates many narrow

and uninviting streets.

Massing / density

The HSSA has a range of building heights, the

majority three to four storey (Figure 2.5). There

is a clear connection between building height and

building use, where ve to six storey buildings in

the south of the HSSA tend to be ofces while

residential use seven plus storey towers are

clustered in the north (Figure 2.6). The buildings in

the latter area are embedded in large open greenspaces, a design typical of social housing estate

plan layouts.

The plot ratio demonstrates a juxtaposition between

an old layer of uses of Victorian buildings and a

newer layer of multi-functional developments.

Building density from a horizontal perspective

is made up of historic buildings that have little

interstitial space and are mainly used as ofces,

whereas vertical density is represented through

towers and high blocks. There is little opportunityto alter massing and density of the buildings in the

HSSA without building removal or redevelopment.

Figure 2.4

Figure 2.6

Figure 2.5

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Building characteristics / typology

The clusters of buildings in the north of HSSA

are inward facing, with little or no relation to

the surrounding roads, often with blank walls

addressing the main access streets. In some parts

of the HSSA the buildings do help give denition

to the streetscape, such as the areas around and

south of Hoxton Square. Despite the variety of

uses at Hoxton Square the overall urban pattern

provides the area with unity and cohesion. Mixed

use typologies along main thoroughfares in HSSA

make for active and vibrant streets. Better planning

and design of the transitional spaces between

different character areas could ease the change in

character mood that is felt at present.

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Landmarks, signicant buildings and view

corridors

The HSSA can be generally characterised as having

two signicant landmark sites: Hoxton Square and

Hoxton Market. The latter is signicant landmark

and destination for locals and is strongly related to

local livelihoods. Its conservation status is aimed

at enabling local control on design and material,

but guidelines restrict modications and shop front

design for areas along Hoxton Street between

Fanshaw and Hemsworth Streets.

Hoxton Square is a prominent landmark and

destination for both residents of the area and

visitors. The square provides a congregation point

as an open green space and a centre-point for

surrounding pubs, bars and restaurants. Signicant

buildings surrounding the square feature a mix of

architectural styles from traditional to contemporary.

A key opportunity could be realised by improving

the linkage between the two landmark sites,

specically along Hoxton Street. While respecting

local conservation principles, better linkages

would foster greater use of the market by visitors,

encourage a greater pedestrian mixing in the area

and strengthen the economic viability of the areas

north of Hoxton Square.

The London View Management Framework outlines

the different vantage points for the view corridors

that can be seen from different boroughs. Protected

view corridors such as St. Pauls Cathedral and

Westminster Palace do not cross through the study

area, but other landmarks such as Fosters Swiss

RE are prominent and should be considered in new

building developments.

Figure 2.7

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03_Objetives, visionand design principles

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3.1_Objectives

Our specic objectives for the Hoxton Square StudyArea (HSSA) include to:

Set out a vision and fundamental urban

design principles for the HSSA;

Dene what will be maintained,

strengthened, improved, upscaled and

modied in relation to urban structure,

access and public realm; and

Suggest strategic interventions andpriorities for the study area.

3.1_Vision

Inspired by Amaryta Sens (1999) ve freedom

principles1, (Samuels 2004) which have also been

explored by Shoreditch Trust in their delivery plans,

our brief seeks to address several of these in our

development vision and design principles. The site

analysis highlighted signicant socio-economicand spatial polarities in the HSSA and we believe

that good design can be a strategic tool to address

these concerns. As such, our vision for the site is

organised by grouping the design principles around

the three of Sens instrumental freedom principles

most relevant to urban design: social opportunities,

economic facilities and protective security. These

categories are dened separately but in practice

are interconnected and overlapping.

Our vision centres around integrating and creating

a harmonious environment for the diverse residents

and users of HSSA, thereby strengthening

economic facilities, social opportunities and

protective security. In the long term this will enhance

positive freedoms by extending these principles

throughout the HSSA and further integrating the

site to the greater networks of Shoreditch and

greater London, establishing a socio-spatial link

with activity generators, upcoming events and

policies.

3.2_Urban design principles

Social opportunities

Improve use, access, quality and

connectivity of open spaces

Promote mixed use districts with a high

quality public realm

Strengthen pedestrian, cyclist and transport

infrastructure and route legibility

Preserve and enhance the distinctivecharacter of the site and its buildings

Maintain affordable and social housing in

the area and minimize gentrication

Economic Facilities

Strengthen livelihood and employment

potential in the areas in the north of HSSA,

largely by linking the landmark sites of

Hoxton Square and Hoxton Market

Maximise the economic potential of the

north of the HSSA by increasing daytime

business and visitor trafc to the Hoxton

Market

Protective Security

Create a safe and secure environment,

minimising crime through good design

Strengthen natural surveillance by linking

pedestrian ows and improving signage

and aesthetics, particularly enhancing east-

west connections

Enhance access and permeability of the

block structure in north of site, particularly

fostering east-west connectivity

Mitigate negative effects of night time

activities on residents

3.0_Objectives, vision anddesign principles

1 These ve principles include: Political Freedoms (free opportunities citizens have to determine who shouldgovern them and on what principles); Economic Facilities (opportunities and freedom to use the economic resourc-

es of the city); Social Opportunities (arrangements and choice of opportunities around education, health care and

other essential community facilities); Transparency Guarantees (guarantees for openness, necessary disclosures,

rights to information and tangible evidence of trust) and Protective Security (measures to provide the necessary

freedom to access the protection of a social security net that prevents the consequences of poverty and suffering

from spreading amongst its inhabitants).

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4.0_Detailed developmentstrategy

Building off the objectives, vision and urban design

principles dened in section three for the Hoxton

Square Study Area (HSSA), this section rst

identies four districts (Figure 4.1) in HSSA, areas

dened through their access, urban structure andopen space qualities. From this an intervention

strategy is described based on seed or catalyst

projects proposed in specic building and open

space development sites in three of the four districts.

These three districts, in the northern section of

HSSA, are in immediate need of intervention to

address the socio-economic differentials present

in the study area. The Hoxton Square district can

be addressed following the urban design principles

and the HSSA general guidelines (see Appendix 1).

The structure and conceptual process is illustratedin Figure 4.2 (ow diagram).

Cultural district one: Hoxton Square District

This district has a dense urban structure with non-

uniform small grain buildings. The land value is

high, with signicant commercial activity, and the

building typology is typically three to four storey

low-rise. Open spaces are used for recreational

purposes, with notable differences in day and

night use, the latter driven by the active night timeeconomy of the area. Hoxton Square is located at

the southern tip of the study area and encircled

by four roads providing the main pedestrian and

vehicular circulation.

Residential district two: Royal Oak Court

District

A primarily residential area located between Piteld

and Hoxton Streets, land values in this district are

increasing and the public realm consists of large,

segregated open spaces. Sparsely located, stand

alone, large grain vertical (seven plus storey)

buildings characterise the urban structure of this

district.

Representational district three: St. Johns

Church District

A triangular area bordered by New North Road,

Piteld Road and Crondall Street, its public realm

is dened by segregated open space of varying

quality. It is a largely residential area not densely

developed, containing medium and low rise

buildings, many of which are inward looking with

underutilised open spaces. The church in the

district provides heritage space and a landmark.

Figure 4.1

Figure 4.2

Objectives Vision Design

Principles Character Districts

Intervention Strategies Interventions

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Residential district four: North Hoxton District

Located south of Shoreditch Park and between

New North Road and Hoxton Street, including the

vibrant Hoxton Street Market, the public realm of

this district is characterised by segregated open

space. It is largely a residential area with several

social housing estates and stand alone, large

grain vertical (seven plus storey) buildings with

underutilised adjacent open spaces. There are

numerous playgrounds of varying quality across

the district.

Intervention Strategy

The intervention strategy consists of planting

a seed or catalyst activity in the public realm of

three districts that will grow and disperse over time,

and help identify each district. The seed activities,

housed in dening areas of the district, aim toreorient and integrate users with open spaces and

the surrounding built environment.

These seedlings include:

Residential district two: creating art installations

in open spaces in the Royal Oak Court estate;

Representational district three: developing a

sense garden in St. Johns Churchyard and

Residential district four: connecting playgroundsin the North Hoxton District; and pathways linking

Hoxton Street with Hoxton Square.

The creation of new activities, the details of which

should be identied by community consultation and

engagement, will retain, maintain and manage the

urban fabric and public realm. These activities can

then spill over in the surrounding area in the future,

enabling adaptability of spaces to meet changing

needs.

4.1_Building and Open Space

Development Sites

The key sites and details for the specic seed or

catalyst project interventions in the three districts

are outlined below. Appendix 1 provides important

general guidelines for developers and professional

teams to be incorporated in any development in theHSSA.

Residential District 2. Royal Oak Court District

The aim for this district is to empower the local

community to use the neglected open spaces in

the area. The seed project involves displaying art

installations in open spaces created by a diversity

of residents to reect the rich community culture

present (Figure 4.3). These themed exhibitions

will enable the community to experience a senseof ownership in the open spaces within their

neighbourhood.

The open spaces should be multi-functional and

user friendly, for example as venues for festivals,

workshops, community events or community

gardening, promoting outdoor activities with

appropriate site furniture, cultural landmarks

and monuments complementary to the users.

To maximise the impact of the art interventions,

a cohesive overall design strategy including

hardscape/softscape, lighting and signage iscritical. Such organised activities will increase

footfall, thereby enhancing the perception and

reality of safety and security of the area. For

this reason, community consultation is critical to

ensure appropriate activities take place, increase

community belonging and create a sense of place.

Figure 4.3

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Representational district three St. Johns

Church District

This catalyst intervention (Figure 4.5) aims to create

a socially inclusive space for all residents of the

area, especially for the large proportion of residents

over 65 as they may feel excluded from more active

existing open spaces, by creating a sense garden.

This would be a place in the currently under-

utilised churchyard where sight, sound, smell and

touch are stimulated, a few examples of which are

illustrated in Figure 4.6 (photos). This would be an

opportunity for older members of the community

to become engaged within their neighbourhood

and build relationships with others in the area. A

series of educational programmes could be run

in conjunction with the project, including youth

activities, such as nature walks with the primary

school next door, to build a culture of sustainability

within the community.

An open access site managed by the Church of

England, it will give a sense of security to users

and welcome people of all faiths or none.

Residential district four North Hoxton District

There are a number of underutilised playgrounds

in the area, characterised by poor connections

and relationships with surrounding buildings. The

catalyst proposes to improve existing pathways,

and to strategically add new pathways; creating

a pedestrian network to forge better connections

between playgrounds (Figure 4.7). This will enable

children to access playgrounds not immediately

adjacent to their buildings, and to feel safe

exploring and building relationships with children

from surrounding estates and residences.

Each pathway should have its own character to

dene the overall network. Lighting, landscaping,

materials and signage should be incorporated in an

integrated master plan (Figure 4.8). Recognising

that childrens security is likely to be a concern,

this issue should be the framework through whichall design interventions are shaped, addressing,

for example, legibility (not getting lost between

playgrounds), clear views from one place to next

and lighting to enhance users perception of

security.

Figure 4.5 Figure 4.7

Although not illustrated in the diagram, the second

critical role of the network dening strategy will be

to link the Hoxton Square district with the Hoxton

Street market. As the route has the potential to lead

people on an exploration from the Hoxton Square

district to Hoxton Market or vice versa, there is

signicant potential to encourage coffee shops andpublic exhibitions along this edge, also bringing

economic benets to the area. Furthermore this

path will improve the north-south and east-west

linkages between the sites.

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02_Aeraanalysis

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5.0_Phasing

The phasing strategy for the above interventions

divides into three broad areas; short, medium and

long term. The detailed implementation strategy

and delivery mechanisms must incorporate rigor-

ous value management and cost planning, as well

as the roles of Shoreditch Trust, Hackney BoroughDistrict Council, private developers and the Hoxton

Square Study Area (HSSA) community.

5.1 Phasing Plan

The short term phase involves minimal physical

intervention, relying on activity generation through

participation and user involvement. This includes

strategically targeted public space interventions

from the three seed project areas, and incorporates

issues such as improving illumination, pavementdesign and street furniture. Community engagement

through cultural exhibitions, childrens competitions,

and themed (food, nature, art) festivals can be used

to engage citizens and invigorate open spaces in

residential areas.

The medium term phase unfolds as community

involvement develops from the seed interventions

in the selected districts. An important component

of this phase is to improve physical access and

movement through east and west corridors, by

creating dedicated pedestrian and cyclist ways,

is an important part of this phase. Selective

physical intervention around urban structure

such as retrotting the lower (ground and rst)

oors of adjacent (selected) buildings to adapt

to emerging demand of identied uses (eg.

commerce, recreation, education) may develop in

this phase. This is achieved through altering many

elements of buildings including the building skin

material, faade, illumination, frontage, access and

permeability of refurbished structures.

The long term phase responds to the macro level

changes proposed in the Shoreditch Framework

Core Strategy (Hackney, 2008) and the London

plan. The brief is exible to accommodate the

spillover effects of the upcoming 2012 Olympics

and the opening of the overground rail line to the

east of the HSSA.

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01_Introduction

02_Aeraanalysis

03_Objectives,vison

anddesignprinciples

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developmentstrategy

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06_Conclusion

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6.0_Conclusions

This development brief for the Hoxton Square

Study Area (HSSA) began by synthesising the

urban analysis information. This highlighted a

sharp socio-economic divide between north and

south of the HSSA, the physical lack of east-west

connectivity, a lack of legibility in the north of theHSSA, and the perception of a lack of security in

many parts of the site. Thus objectives, a vision

and urban design principles were developed to

tackle these constraints and opportunities, based

on Sens freedom principles relating to social

opportunities, economic facilities and protective

security (Sen, 2001, Samuels, 2004). From these,

strategies were dened through identifying districts

for catalyst interventions and proposing seed

projects in three of the four districts, prioritising the

districts in the north of HSSA to address the sharp

socio-economic divide. Section ve outlines short,

medium and long term phasing for next steps.

It is important to note here that the terms of

reference specically stated not only interventions

to change the study area but also to maintain,

strengthen, improve, upscale and modify positive

existing characteristics. An investigation into

putting a catalyst intervention in Hoxton Square,

in accordance with the dened vision and urban

design principles, was carried out. The decision was

taken that an intervention in Hoxton Square wouldnot be needed as existing positive characteristics,

combined with the immediate need of areas in

the north of the HSSA, preclude the need for

intervention. Appendix 2 provides an exploratory

look at an intervention that was not selected.

The professional team tasked with carrying the

development of Shoreditch and especially the

HSSA forward should be aware that a key principle

of this development brief is that the citizens in the

area have opportunity to participate in a real way inthe planning process.

The tools for urban design (space analysis, urban

analysis, visual strategy etc) are most likely to

have positive results if combined with participatory

planning processes. In this way the residents can

build on social access, environmental justice and

thereby build a new community.

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Appendix 1

General development guidelines for the Hoxton

Square Study Area

Access

Provide more non-vehicular east-west connectionsto make the area cyclist and pedestrian friendly.

Dene cyclist routes and adequate lighting on all

roads.

Create speed breakers on the intersections of

main vehicular and non-vehicular roads.

Employ non-metallic road cover to prevent the

entry of heavy vehicles.

Furnish roads with well-dened signage, maps

and direction graphics.

Create distinctive pavement patterns (for day)

and illumination designs (including pavement

illumination for night) for the respective character

districts in order to create a sense of arrival and

place, to help people identify their route towards

their destination, and to provide orientation within

the site.

Promote a set of pedestrian routes through the

area, to better enable local and visitors to move

through the HSSA.

Public Realm

Identify a set of unused open spaces in the

identied districts to integrate into the main seed

activity, focussing on interventions that meet the

needs of the immediate users of the area.

Integrate the social fabric by sensitising the users

through innovative activities that cater to their

specic needs (i.e. ethnic, gender, cultural, social),

enabling the users of the space to become key

stakeholders in the initiative.

Give temporality to the use functions of the public

spaces (diurnal, seasonal, event specic), inviting

a ow of constant users at different times of the

year.

Apply a minimum solar powered illumination

standard.

Provide standard public utilities such as toilets,

phone booths and rst aid centres according to the

need of the area.

Urban Structure

Retrot the lower (ground and rst) oors ofadjacent selected buildings to adopt different uses

as per the emerging demand (i.e. recreational,

educational, etc.).

Provide a cohesive urban environment through

changing the building skin material, faade,

illumination, frontage, access and permeability of

refurbished buildings.

Bring uniformity to buildings spatial envelopes

and similarly to the public realm, by its choice of

similar material, colour, texture, height and shading

devices, complimentary to use.

Retain the existing pattern of the land use, building

density (footprint and height) and block size within

the same district.

Restrict vertical land use change to two lower

oors, and ensure they do not cover more than one

third of the existing building footprint.

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Appendix 2

Hoxton Square was a seed or catalyst intervention

that was explored but not selected as a development

site in the brief. The rationale for this is explained in

Section 4.0. Please also see the second paragraph

in the conclusion (Section 6.0) of this document for

more information and the context for this decision.

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hoxton square

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