IHBC Yearbook 2014

R E V I E W 27 have you visited a historic town or city to find a development that is out of scale with its surroundings, simply because it was a single site, owned by a single body which employed a single architectural practice to design a single building? Traditionally historic towns and cities are characterised by ‘fine grain uses’ where buildings and their functions tend to be many and varied rather than consisting of fewer, larger units with less variety of form or function. This built form gives a richness and diversity of activities as well as a rhythm of building frontages and a frequency of entrances that are associated with the pattern of land ownership. What would be the result if owners divided up large sites before inviting developers and their architects to prepare designs? This process is very rare in the UK. An example from Berlin (see page 26), however, suggests that by employing simple rules master planning can create a different result giving a fine grain to new urban infill. LOOKING AHEAD As the concept of master planning has continued to develop, the term ‘urban design framework’ seems to have become more appealing. The process advocated here for historic towns and cities focusses on the needs of the stakeholders in coming together to formulate a shared vision of shaping places. This is borne out by the evidence from Worcester, where engagement with the stakeholders allowed the formulation of a vision and the delivery of viable outcomes that manage change positively and proactively. These frameworks should be continually reviewed to ensure that they adapt to social, economic and cultural change. As a tool, the master planning process must continue to evolve further. This collaborative process needs to be adaptive and flexible not only in terms of spatial vision but also in terms of economic vision. Economies are dynamic, fashions move on and managing change in a positive and proactive way is a fundamental issue that master plans and UDFs need to address. Arguably Cerda’s 1851 master plan for Barcelona is still valid today because, like the best modern master plans or urban design frameworks, it was sufficiently robust to accommodate change. Recommended Reading The Changing Face of the High Street: Decline and Revival, EH/Allies & Morrison, London, 2013 R Cowan, The Dictionary of Urbanism, Streetwise Press, Tisbury, 2005 Understanding Place: Conservation Area Designation, Appraisal and Management, EH, London, 2011 Understanding Place: Historic Area Assessments: Principles and Practice, EH, London, 2010 Barry Sellers DipUD MAUD MRTPI IHBC has been a member of the Urban Design Group (UDG) since 1982 and was chair from 2004 to 2006. He has been a member of the UDG Executive Committee for ten years and helped to develop the UDG’s recognised practitioner status. He is also a senior planner in the urban design and conservation section at Wandsworth Borough Council. Managing change in the historic environment turley.co.uk BUILDING CONSERVATION & MASONRY SPECIALISTS Grosvenor Construction Ltd, Tir Llwyd Industrial Estate, Kinmel Bay, Conwy LL18 5JA T. 01745 560358 F. 01745 774928 enquiries@grosvenorconstruction.co.uk www.grosvenorconstruction.co.uk ANCHORING & REINFORCEMENT

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