URBAN REALM DESIGN |
Brighton Valley Gardens | Brighton + Hove City Council
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Urban Movement won a mini tender/design competition in 2012 to redesign Brighton’s largest public park space, Valley Gardens. In partnership with landscape architects Untitled Practice we developed robust concept and detailed designs (to RIBA stage D) for the link roads, streets and garden spaces that run from The Level in the north to the seafront in the south.
Valley Gardens is currently dominated by the confluence of the A23 and A270 trunk roads, with the ‘garden’ spaces acting as little more than isolated traffic islands. The gardens, however, host Britain’s largest stand of disease resistant Elm trees along with numerous other significant mature trees. The ground plane, for the most part, is simply mown grass with little ecological value. The corridor currently acts as a barrier to movement for all modes of travel, especially pedestrians and cyclists, bisecting the city centre and, most importantly, failing to capitalise on the potential opportunity that such a large green space could offer a compact, diverse and vibrant city. The design concept involved simplifying the traffic movements to consolidate the highways, minimising their negative impacts and making the gardens more accessible allowing the redesigned and enlarged gardens to become the ‘Green Lungs’ of the city, ecologically rich and inclusive in their appeal. |
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The development of our proposals started by understanding the wider importance of the corridor and its strategic function for moving people around the city. Tackling the often less glamorous issues of traffic congestion, bus priority and servicing meant that proposals to reconnect the garden spaces, with each other and the adjacent townscape, have been informed by rigorous analysis. From the outset we were focused on developing an agreed, practical and deliverable concept design for the Valley Gardens, along with a delivery strategy to enable the realisation of the proposal. Technical design is now (2016) being undertaken by the Council’s framework engineering consultants.
Key components of the public realm included: formal and informal pedestrian crossings aligned with local desire lines and the key east west routes; raised table crossings on all side roads; footway level loading and parking bays; co-located bus stops; extensive tree and shrub planting; rain gardens (SuDS) along each carriageway; a network of cycle tracks and lanes along every street; low energy LED street lighting; inclusive (with backs and arm rests) seats at regular intervals on every footway and a harmonised palette of materials that helps to unify the whole ‘Valley Gardens’ space, including the roads and streets.
Key components of the public realm included: formal and informal pedestrian crossings aligned with local desire lines and the key east west routes; raised table crossings on all side roads; footway level loading and parking bays; co-located bus stops; extensive tree and shrub planting; rain gardens (SuDS) along each carriageway; a network of cycle tracks and lanes along every street; low energy LED street lighting; inclusive (with backs and arm rests) seats at regular intervals on every footway and a harmonised palette of materials that helps to unify the whole ‘Valley Gardens’ space, including the roads and streets.
