Nikolaos KaragiannisPanagiotis Konikkos

“EVENT CI Y”

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

BRIEF ...................................................... 4

NORTH LIVERPOOL (VAUXHALL) ................................. 6

HISTORIC CONTEXT ........................................... 8

THE AREA OF VAUXHALL...................................... 10

EXPLORING POTENTIAL DESIGN IDEAS .......................... 16

VISION .................................................... 24

INITIAL IDEAS ............................................. 26

KEY STRATEGIC DIAGRAMS .................................... 30

FINAL PROPOSAL ............................................ 44

VISUALISATIONS ............................................ 54

APPENDICES ................................................ 62

ENVIRONMENTAL ............................................. 63

COSTS OF DEVELOPMENT ...................................... 64

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BRIEFIntroduction:

Module 7006 Urban Design will examine a range of urban possibilities for a specific neighbourhood in Liverpool. The location provides its own set of problems and potentials. The city has exhibited levels of economic decline, stagnation and recent recovery, it has become secondary to the focus of the national economy, it has sought to re-establish themselves as leisure and heritage destinations, capitalising upon the cultural economy as European Capital of Culture Liverpool 2008. Onto this urban fabric and against this economic background we will be tasked with constructing a strategy for regenerating the neighbourhood. The area in Liverpool was Vauxhall, north to Liverpool one.

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NORTH LIVERPOOL (VAUXHALL)Vauxhall is an inner city district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is located north of Liverpool city centre, and it is bounded by Kirkdale in the north, and Everton in the east, with the docks and River Mersey running along the west side.Vauxhall is in the Liverpool City Council ward of Kirkdale and the edge of the Central, Liverpool ward, although previously it was a ward itself. According to the 2001 Census, Vauxhall had a population of 6,699.Vauxhall area is more famously known as the “Scottie Road area” due to the history of Scotland Road running through it. The Scottie Press is a well known local newspaper for the Vauxhall area and is recognised as “Britain’s longest running community newspaper”. In 2008 Liverpool celebrated being European Capital of Culture, and in June 2008 to make a point of the area’s contribution to Liverpool is not forgotten amid all the cultural celebrations, the Scottie Roaders, old and new, held their own 08 party.Despite the area being widely known and historical, the Vauxhall area is often misrepresented by the media as Kirkdale or Everton. Liverpool City Council’s haste to update district signs around 2005 has also meant the entire area is formally misrepresented by signs saying “Everton”.The south end of Vauxhall near the city centre is home to Liverpool John Moores University at Byrom Street. This location like so much of Liverpool’s inner city is much changed compared to yesteryear. Also nearby is Atlantic Point and Marybone halls of residence.

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HISTORIC CONTEXTScotland Road was the centre of working class life in north Liverpool. Home to most of Liverpool’s migrant communities, Scotland Road was almost “a city within a city”. It had four main migrant communities; Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian — not to mention the native Lancastarian community and pockets of German and Polish — making Scotland Road a cultural melting pot. It was a place close to both the back end of the city centre and the docks. It could be a place of both romantic nostalgia and brutal hardship. Community was at the centre of Scotland Road and one’s faith often dictated which community one belonged to.In Victorian times the area had over 200 public houses, mostly now gone. In 1850 the area was full of residents, especially low quality, for the working class. Stanley Dock was full operated and the canal was extended souther close to the edge, where Liverpool one is started today. Also there was the bridge of the train, following the path that nowadays is ruined.In 1890 the area have not change a lot but it was added a new train bridge, the part that is still in operation. The area had become densely overcrowded, with people living in courts and

cellars in appalling conditions with poverty and sickness worse than anywhere in the country.In 1900 it was added the Tobacco Warehouse, a large brick construction and the Stanley dock became smaller, and the Wool warehouse. The whole area was starting to become a more industrial.In 1920 more and more industries were coming, two examples are the Colonial wool warehouse and the Atlas warehouse. The area was full of immigrants (Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian), because the could found a job. All these people lived in poor quality houses, and many were demolished as slums in the 1930s, to be replaced with corporation flats.After 1950 and especially between 1960 and 1970 the people was moved away from the area towards to Kirkby, Croxteth, Norris Green, Fazakerley, Huyton, Stockbridge Village, because of the Urban clearance and the construction of the Wallasey Tunnel. Also part of the canal to the south was covered.In 1980 the area was still in decline and demolitions particularly around the north end of Scotland Road continued. In 90s a lot of the warehouses was demolished and they replaced by small businesses and the Eldonian village to the east of the rail bridge.

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1920 1950 1960

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© Landmark Information Group Ltd and Crown copyright 2014. FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY.

1850 1890 1900

1920 1950 1960

1970 1980 1990

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THE AREA OF VAUXHALLThe nolli plan of Vauxhall area, Liverpool, shows the relationship between the different types of buildings in and around the core site as well as the relationship between several zones in the area. The core site includes the remains of the old railway bridge as well as old warehouses on the West of the railway bridge. The east part of the core site includes a clear residential area with warehouses on the North. Further, the South part includes mostly commercial/retail buildings and some residential and warehouses and the west part includes some historically important buildings around Stanley Dock. Finally the west edge of the site also includes the proposed waterfront development which presents mostly residential buildings and offices with smaller parts to be commercial and retail.

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

INDUSTRIAL

SCHOOL/ COLLAGE

GRADE 2 LISTED BUILDINGS

HOTEL

ABANDONED RAILWAY BRIDGE

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

DOCKS AND CANAL

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The density map shows the main transportation options in the area with a raised railway bridge running from North Liverpool to the city centre through the core site. Also primary and secondary streets are shown in shades of red with the darker being the busiest. Great Howard St. is the busiest vehicular route which connects North Liverpool (Bootle) with the city centre. Secondary streets include Vauxhall road which connects Walton to the city centre through the Eldonian village and also Chisenhale St. and Love Ln which connect the Eldonian village with Great Howard St. and Leeds St. Finally several less busy streets form the vehicular movement options in the area including narrow streets in the Eldonian village and in the industrial zone on the west of the core site.

HIGH DENSITY

LOW DENSITY

RAILWAY

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These are the existing conditions around the area in Vauxhall. It is an area with a lot of small industries and businesses. There are also a lot of abandoned buildings, such as Tobacco warehouse, part of the old railway bridge, etc.Also there are a lot of narrow streets and dead ends, which serves only the industries and some of them are totally abandoned.The site is so close to Liverpool one and the city centre, but some parts seems to be abandoned. Amongst the positives that improves the quality of the area are the canal and the Eldonian village to the east.The Eldonian village is the only residential area and it is covered with terrace houses.

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EXPLORING POTENTIAL DESIGN IDEASNowadays more than 50% of the population lives in urban areas and the percentage is growing 1.63% per year. The main reason behind this is that the cities are economic engines and the pillars of financial growth of the country. Our vision for this new “economic engine” in North Liverpool is to create a friendly and pleasant environment to improve the daily social life of the inhabitants of the area and in the same time to keep the city’s unique identity and make it distinctive from others.Liverpool’s city council vision for the area is to extend the enterprise zone from Liverpool one to the North Liverpool and to combine it with the Waterfront. The plan is to improve the quality of life and the environment and to reconnect Liverpool’s city centre with Vauxhall. Also to create a clear local city centre for the community.

ENTERPRISE ZONE

WATERFRONT

LIVERPOOL ONE

THE SITE IN VAUXHALL

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The green print for growth map highlights the vision of creating green spaces and parks of reasonable size in every part of Liverpool including Anfield park, Everton park, Crosby lake park and many more. Vauxhall area includes no green spaces or public parks and this reinforces the need for parks in our site such as the proposed green strip on the remains of the old railway bridge which runs from the old cotton exchange to the proposed train station and north to the edge of the canal.

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Our initial site analysis is based on our vision to create a friendly and pleasant environment and also to create a new city centre to connect not only the local neighbourhoods, but Liverpool as a whole. Liverpool is a city with more than 466.415 people and about 50.000 students. It is also famous for its culture, music, theatre, sports, events and festivals scattered all over the city.The map on the right shows the exploration of the cultural activities around Liverpool. The majority of them are on the south and south east (Echo arena, Sefton park, etc.). There is a lack of event spaces on the north of Liverpool. Also we focused on the parks in the city and there is a lack around LiverpoolOne area and North Liverpool. Based on the research and the idea for a network of green spaces (print green for growth) we tried to base the design on small green spaces (pocket spaces) around the area of the development.

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PARKS AROUND LIVERPOOL

EVENT AREAS AROUND LIVERPOOL

LIVERPOOL ONE

SITE

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D

EF

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N

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P

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A. Sefton Park

B. Princes Park

C. Toxteth Park Cemetery

D. Tiber Park

E. Wavertree Botanic Gardens

F. Newsham Park

G. Edinburgh Park

H. Stanley Park

I. Browside Gardens

J. Everton Park

K. Kingsway Park

L. Falkner Square Gardens

M. St. James Mt. and Gardens

N. Great George Square Great Gardens

O. St. Jhons Gardens

P. Canalside Park

Q. William Collins Playing Fields

1. Africa Oye Flower Show Liverpool food and drink festival Biennial

2. Biennial

3. Theater Performances

4. Concerts Music festivals

5. Biennial

6. Liverpool Irish festival

7. Anfield

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The transportation is a vital aspect for our design. The map on the right shows the existing conditions of public transportation. There are several bus stations in the site, but there is a lack of train stations, which could connect the city centre with the area. The only available direct transportation options between the site and the city centre are by bus, on foot or by car. Our aim is to improve the transportation in the site in order to bring more people to the proposed development, with the reduction of vehicular movement at the same time.

SITE

BUS

METRO

BUSES ROUTES

METRO LINES

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VISIONAs urban designers, our aim is to create a friendly and pleasant environment and also to create a new city centre, to connect not only the local neighborhoods, but the whole Liverpool. Our vision joins the city council’s one to create a clear centre of activities in order to push the area towards economic growth and to attract more residents and workers in the site.Our proposal, for the development is to create an attractive city centre that will bring together the residents on the east and the new developments on the west together, based on the idea of leisure. Our scheme, the “event city”, will provide the local community witha variety of entertainment and leisure activities, which will bring the area back to life and make it more attractive.The Event City will accommodateSeveral types of activities, such as theatre, cinema, commercial strips, markets, spa, education (dance and music schools) and also events and festivals.With this proposal we try to keep the characteristics of the city, to promote important bits that Liverpool is famous for, to improve the daily social life of the local community and Liverpool in general, as well as to join the local council’s vision to create a new city centre in North Liverpool based on the new dockside development which will include over 20.000 apartments, hundreds of offices and many more.The diagram shows the level of importance for each category, from primary to secondary, and the process of the development with the core to be the events.

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INITIAL IDEASAll these sketches are showing the first approaches based on our ideas.It is cleared enough that from the beginning we tried to use the train bridges, both the one in use and the abandoned (1,2,7)The one in use we keep it as it is, but the other we tried to make some changes to improve it and to use it an elevated pedestrian path (7).Another key location was the space between the two bridges and the arches of them. This was from the beginning the area for the market (4,7,8). The next key idea was the introduction of pocket green spaces and the improvement of the condition in the existing fabric (6,7).Finally the pedestrian connection of the one side of the industrial area with our site nad the way that someone can cross the main road the divide the area (9).

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1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

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Initial ideas, at the beginning of the project, include the vision of transforming vehicular streets into pedestrian (1,3) and bicycle routes (2,4) connecting the core site with the Eldonian village in the east and the new waterfront development on the west via the industrial streets with additions of small green spaces and public squares sideways (1,2,3). As shown at image 1, the end of Love Ln will be transformed into a pedestrian path running through the market area. Also images 2 & 3 highlight the idea of direct pedestrian connections from the core site to the proposed waterfront development with the addition of small green spaces sideways. Image 4 shows the idea of having pedestrian and bicycle routes only, within the core of the development, with vehicular traffic to be prohibited. Finally image 5 shows the direct connection from the city centre to the north edge of the site through a green strip to increase the quality of movement and life in the area.

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1 2 3

4 5

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KEY STRATEGIC DIAGRAMSThis diagram shows the development for the new proposed master plan. The centre of the activity is highlighted with red and it is located in the centre of our site, where the two bridges, the new and the old, are connected.The development Starts from that point and extended outwards. Closer to the dark blue are the areas that we deal with them less.The main idea is to have all the important facilities that related to the “Event City” in the centre of the development and all the other activities (such as residential) further away.We tried to create a main focal point and a clear centre that attracts all the other activities.

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Primary

Secondary

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The most important direct, vertical and horizontal links are highlighted to suggest the best possible connections from the waterfront to the core site and the horizontal vain which connects North Liverpool with the city centre. The horizontal link is Great Howard St. and it is vital for the area due to its high level of traffic. Also the waterfront is directly connected with the Eldonian village in the east through Oil St. Chadwich St. Chisenhale St. leading to Vauxhall Rd. The second vertical connection aims to directly connect the proposed waterfront development with the new train station in the core site, directly, through Cotton St. and Upper William St.

KEY POINTS

MAIN CONNECTIONS

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KEY POINTS

MAIN PEDESTRIAN ROUTES

This diagram shows the approach of the pedestrian movement in relation to the main key areas.We tried to create different pedestrian movement inside the site and outside, vertical and horizontal.The important points are the connection with the new proposed development on the docks and a clear circulation inside the site.

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KEY POINTS

ELEVATED GREEN SPACE

Based on our ideas of the green spaces, we introduced a park, an elevated park, which also links the city centre with our cite.This diagram shows the location of the proposed elevated park in relationship with the key point and the connection between them.The proposed park is using the existing fabric of the abandoned train bridge.

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KEY POINTS

PROPOSED POCKET GREENS

In order to improve the existing conditions in the space between our proposal and the new residents on the waterfront, we introduced a series of small green spaces between the buildings.Our aim was to improve the existing fabric of that area and to avoid demolitions.The diagram on the right shows that proposal of small green spaces inside the existing skin.

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KEY POINTS

CONNECTION OF OPEN SPACES

This last diagram shows the connection between the four main open spaces. The first one, from left to right, is the elevated park, the second is the ground level market, the third is the new proposed train station (elevated) with a square (ground level) and the fourth is the main event square (ground level).

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1. This diagram shows the mass of some buildings , which combines activities that belong to our proposal (events) with a more commercial development. The red parts show the activities related to events and the grey all the rest.

2. This diagram shows the proposed station area. The six buildings create a protected public space. The three red arrows indicates the primary circulation and the two light red arrows shows the secondary connections.

3. This final diagram explains the main principles of developing this event space. This area is divided with four building one on each corner, creating an enclosure open space in the middle.The red arrow in the middle shows the clear connection between the path on one side and the canal on the other. The light red colour indicates the three open event spaces, one for big events and two for smaller. The grey arrows shows the use of arches as supporting for the event space.

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FINAL PROPOSALThe proposed Liverpool Event City is located in Vauxhall area, North Liverpool, and it is part of an area with great potential due to its distance from the popular city Centre and historically important buildings such as the tobacco warehouse in Stanley Dock. Vauxhall area has been mostly residential and industrial in recent years and with relatively quiet streets apart from the main artery, Great Howard St, which connects North Liverpool and the City Centre. The core of the proposed development is located around the remains of the old railway bridge and the new railway bridge which provide a great contrast of the past and present of the site.Our vision for the event/festival development joins the vision of the local council to create a new city Centre in North Liverpool and to increase the amount of visitors, both locals and tourists, as well as to bring new businesses and residents in the area, such as the proposed mixed use development of the Liverpool Waters on the dockside.The approach of the Liverpool Event City aims to bring

huge amounts of people into the side during events but also to keep the park busy with the local community during periods that big events are not held. The potential success of the Liverpool Event City lies upon its location within a busy area close to the city Centre with a community ready to join the events. Further, the inclusion of residential blocks, mixed use developments, commercial bits, art hubs and a market, are vital for the success of the park, to keep it busy during daytime and winter months when the amount of events decreases. Further, the Liverpool Event City includes open event spaces that would become public squares within the city when no events are planned and also, it includes the idea of multi-purpose event and exhibition spaces that can accommodate several types of events, which will reduce the cost of construction by having less event buildings in the site and more residents and businesses who can use the open and closed spaces for the benefit of the local community.Finally the remains of

the old railway bridge in Vauxhall area can be seen on the North and South edges of the proposed ‘Event City’ development by the new railway bridge which used to connect Kirgby with the old Cotton Exchange near City Centre.Our vision was to reconnect the old bridge in a similar way that it used to be before the middle part was removed. This connection provides a great opportunity for the visitors to use this elevated urban space as a safe and pleasant route away from traffic, for pedestrians and cyclers, running from the City Centre towards the Event City development and the proposed train station and continues sideways the canal towards North Liverpool.The North Liverpool bridge will provide pleasant walkways, fast cycle lanes, open and planted green spaces, public squares for resting, views into the proposed market and the canal as well as it will be connected with the proposed residential blocks to provide playgrounds and sport activities for the residents and the local community.

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The ground floor plan of the development highlights the spaces under the proposed raised park and the spaces around the market area with the transformation of the existing arches into usable spaces. Some of the arches are used as vehicular connections as well as proposed pedestrian connections within the site. From south to north the spaces below the proposed high level park at the residential area will be used for commercial purposes including a supermarket and a car show room. The existing arches east of the market will be used for the needs of the market and the arches on the west will be transformed into artist’s hubs. Finally the existing arches on the north edge of the site will be used for the supporting facilities for open events in the main event space.

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Our proposal has multiple connection to Liverpool one.The centre of the proposal is in Vauxhall but it is extended close to the city centre.This map shows the location of our proposal in relationship with the city centre.Also highlights the location of the existing metro station and the new proposed station in the heart of the development.

LIVERPOOL ONE

EXISTING TRAIN STATIONS

PROPOSED TRAIN STATION

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The next pages shows the relation between our proposal and the existing fabric.The sections are following a path from the beginning of the site to the end.The first two section on the next page shows, the first the elevated park with the residents and the existing train bridge.The elevated park is not only a pedestrian path, but serves the residents as an outdoor space with activities. Under the park, the space is used as car park and other supporting facilities for the residents (supermarket, etc.)The second section is cutting through the market area, showing the relationship between the two bridges and the market, as long as with the new proposed developments of the “Event City”.

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A B

A B

SECTION AA

SECTION BB

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The next two sections run through the two main squares in the proposal.The first is the square with the new train station a focal place that attracts people from the surrounding area with a lot of public building surrounding it.The second section runs through the events square which is the place for the different types of open space events, the centre of the “Event City”.

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C D

C D

SECTION CC

SECTION DD

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VISUALISATIONSThe main park area runs from the old exchange centre to the proposed residential development over Leeds St. It includes a wide pedestrian and bicycle lane with circular sitting areas in the middle. The green areas are separated in two different types such as grass/playground areas and planted green areas.

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The pedestrian and bicycle route becomes a little narrower in front of the residential blocks and it provides sitting and reading spaces along with gardens, planted areas and playgrounds for activities and sport fields. The public urban space also becomes the gardens and the playgrounds of the residents and provides great views from the apartments down to the park.

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The market area is one of the most important in our scheme due to its location between the new and the old railway bridges. On the east the park with pedestrian routes pass by on a higher level and provide views into the market area, with sitting spaces and plantation. Under the bridge, the arches were used for the needs of the market, as well as to connect the east and the west parts of the site through open arches which run through the market area. The arches are used by the market as permanent spaces. The wooden structures, in the middle, will be used temporarily during events and festivals.

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The central square is the core of our site and it includes direct connections to the main event area on the north, to the artist’s hubs on the south, to the industrial area on the west, the Eldonian village on the east and to the proposed train station on a higher level. The dance and music school, exhibition spaces and artist’s hubs surrounding the public square with small green spaces and a sitting space in the middle which give the opportunity to the public to watch a live performance in front of the dance and music schools.

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APPENDICES

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The environmental approach was the driving force for the proposed development due to the lack of green spaces and the quality of air in the area with a high rate of vehicle movement around the site. Small green spaces were added sideways the industrial streets and most importantly a huge green park was designed on the remains of the old railway bridge, within an area of 42,523m2, along with pedestrian and bicycle routes connecting the city center with the proposed train station in the core site and continues sideways the canal.Also apart from pedestrian routes in the green areas, several streets were transformed into pedestrian paths connecting the core site with the Eldonian village on the East and the new waterfront development on the West via the industrial zone. Vehicle movement was also reduced around the site and some of the streets will become ‘Solar Streets’ to cover the needs of all artificial lighting in public spaces and the park.Further, the addition of a new train station will give the opportunity to people to use the train for their transportation from and to the area, and along with clear pedestrian connections and bicycle routes from the city entre to the site, will aim to further reduce vehicular traffic in the area. Finally for the event buildings and the first phase of the development local materials will be used to avoid long distance shipping and also recyclable materials will be used for construction for maximum efficiency.

ENVIRONMENTAL

VEHICLES

TRAIN

PEDESTRIANS HIGHER LEVEL

PEDESTRIANS FROM LOW TO HIGH LEVEL

PEDESTRIANS LOW LEVEL

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COSTS OF DEVELOPMENT

TYPE AREA m2 COST PER m2 TOTAL COST

Residential 53,416m2 £580 £30,981,280Event Space 36,342m2 £750 £27,256,500Commercial 16,508m2 £450 £7,428,600Green Space 42,513m2 £650 £27,633,450

Mixed Use/Office 97,854m2 £750 £73,390,500Pavements 25,159m2 £1700 £42,770,300

Demolition Cost 24,958m2 £30 £748,740

Total Cost of Development £167,439,070

TYPE AREA m2 - LOSS 10% - COST PER m2 TOTAL INCOME

Residential 53,416m2 loss 10% (5341.6)m2 @ £20/m2 £ 1,068.320Event Space 36,342m2 loss 10% (3634.2)m2 @ £20/m2 £729,840Commercial 16,508m2 loss 10% (1650.8)m2 @ £15/m2 £247,620

Mixed Use/Office 97,854m2 loss 10% (3634.2)m2 @ £20/m2 £1,957,080

TOTAL INCOME £4,002,860

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Firstly, the old warehouses will be demolished at the south edge of the railway bridge facing Great Howard St. with an area of 24,958m2 at the cost of £748,740. The next phase of the project will include the residential blocks which will cover an area of 53,416m2 at the cost of £30,981,280, the event spaces with an area of 36,342m2 at the cost of 27,256,500, and the Green Spaces/Parks with an area of 42,513m2 at the cost of £27,633,450.

The next phase of the project will include the restoration of the existing pavements in the area and the addition of new ones including pedestrian routes and public squares which will cover an area of 25,159m2 at the cost of £42,770,300.

The final phase of the project will include the commercial developments with a total area of 16,508m2 at the cost of £7,428,600 and the mixed use/office buildings with a total area of 97,856m2 at the cost of £73,390,500.Demolition costs along with pavements and buildings will have a total cost of £167,439,070 by the completion of the development.