A Space to breathe
Interior Architecture & Design
Potential Sites
As a starting point to finding my site location, I considered the two Universities based in the city - Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham. Ideally, the site should be located somewhere between both areas where the majority of students live.
The journey time between the main campus of NTU and UoN is of approximately 10mins by car, 20mins by public transport or 25mins cycling.
I analysed the map shown here, locating the main campus of both Universities, and found an area which was approximately a 5min journey by car, 10mins by public transport and a 15min cycle from either side, highlighted here in red. This area is predominantly a part of Lenton, but also covering a small area of The Park.
Images taken from Google Maps Street View, December 2014
The catchment area highlighted on the map covers a large part of Lenton Boulevard, which mainly consists of residences. Parts of the street are also taken up by small corner shops and takeaways, most of which also have student properties above them. Due to being conveniently located between both universities, it's very busy and popular, however there did not seem to be anything that stood out to me as a potential site to house a space to breathe.
By venturing further up the street, I reached where it crossed with Derby Road. By turning left, there were 2 lovely big green areas, which has a Health Centre on the corner. The Derby Road Health Centre could potentially be linked to my concept as a current space for treating people, though my space will be much more about the soothing of the mind and body rather a medical perspective.
Option 1 - Savoy Cinema, Nottingham
Just off Lenton Boulevard, I found the Savoy Cinema, a very old looking building which has feature characteristics of an 'antique' theatre on the outside. This could potentially be considered as a site location for my project due to its location, size of building, as well as being a historic-looking building. It would already have numerous compartmented spaces which could be adapted into the various spaces my design would need, as well as the sound-proofing being ideal to separate the noisy spaces from the silent individual ones.
'Designed by Notts architect Reginald W Cooper in art-deco style with full stage facilities, the cinema could accommodate 1,200 ' (Nottingham Post, 2010).
With its very old-fashioned facade, the Savoy is an independent cinema that sits humbly in Lenton and almost looks abandoned at times, due to its design. The inside is slightly more updated, however, it is still significantly smaller than its competitors, such as Cineworld located in the city centre. Although it may not seem as extravagant as a bigger cinema, the Savoy still offers a few very large screens as well as a few smaller rooms.
Savoy Cinema, Lenton, Nottingham, April 2014.
The Savoy cinema is located slightly closer to NTU than it is to UoN, yet it is still approximately a 25min walk pending on where you are on campus. Having said that, there are many students from both universities who live in Lenton and are only a few short moments from the Savoy, so the location is still very convenient.
Upon reflection, I questioned myself whether looking for a site between both campuses was really the best solution? NTU is based right in the city centre, which I believe students from UoN would visit every now and again for various reasons regardless of where they live or study. Whereas students from NTU would be a lot less likely to travel out of the city unless they lived in that direction, for example.
Perhaps looking for a site in the city centre would have a greater impact? It could still be available to all students, and likely to be more well-known due the location.
Furthermore, by looking for a site in the city centre, does this new ‘breathing space’ need to be only for university students? Or could it also be available to college students for example? Supposedly, every student would like a space to relax, and not just from a university level? Though, perhaps it would simply need to be targeted at a certain age group to avoid attracting very young students.
As a starting point to analysing this new location, the map below shows the colleges located in and around Nottingham city centre, with the central area highlighted being the NG1 postcode area.
Option 2 - William Booth Memorial Halls, Nottingham
Looking at the highlighted NG1 postcode area on the map above, at first glance there are very few ‘green’ spaces within it. The options being: The Arboretum Park, the border of Forest Field Grounds, and part of Victoria Park. From these options, I wanted to observe further the Victoria Park area as I was not very familiar with the area or the buildings around it.
Upon arrival, from the roundabout next to the park I straightaway noticed ‘The Salvation Army’ building, with its large red doors on the corner, sat quite prominently facing St Ann’s Well Road. The building is relatively small in comparison to the large residential buildings which surround it, most of which are student let.
NG1
William Booth Memorial Halls
The William Booth Memorial Halls is a historic building set in the heart of Nottingham. In 1915 it was purposely "built by the city to honour the Founder" (Salvation Army website) of the Salvation Army, William Booth.
I particularly like how this building stands alone on the corner, quite majestically with its large amounts of pavement. For my design intent, this building would have an interesting potential to create a rooftop garden, as it is not very tall and offers plenty of breathing space. Though, the taller surrounding buildings could prove to be quite intrusive in that scenario.
The location of this building is suitable and convenient, as it is a short walk from the NTU city campus, as well as being right next to the busy A60 road and overlooking Victoria Park – A good potential site overall. My only concern is that it is on the very far east of the NG1 postcode area, which is not a very visually pleasing part of the city. I would prefer to have a site more towards the west side, so it would be closer to UoN and perhaps closer to the picturesque areas near Nottingham Castle such as The Park or Lace Market for example.
Images from Google Maps Street View, December 2014
Option 3 - Malt Cross Cafe Bar, Nottingham
Malt Cross
Cafe Bar
NG1
I continued my search into the Old Market Square and Lace Market areas, where I searched for buildings with a significant historical context. The Lace Market’s history is very exciting as it is one of the oldest areas of the city, and it was the commercial and cultural back-bone of Nottingham. Today, it is the most creative and ‘vintage’ area of the city, with plenty of interesting places.
I wanted to find a site with character and a potential for the addition of a green space or natural element of some kind. My research lead me to the Malt Cross Café Bar my the Old Market Square which was built in 1877 as a Victorian Music Hall, and is now a charity-run café which hosts numerous community based activities and artistic events.
"In October 2014 the Malt Cross reopened after an extensive refurbishment made possible by a £1.38m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project has brought back into public use two basement levels and a cave" (Maltcross website). The cave access is what particularly drew me to the site. It is a natural feature that has been incorporated into the building, giving it an interesting distinction from other buildings in the Lace Market.
“The basement levels have a swanky new sound-proof recording studio, a meeting room, a workshop, a gallery…” (LeftLion Website). These features mean there is a potential I could re-use the already sound-proof rooms to provide my quiet relaxation spaces, as well as use the cave as the ‘natural getaway’ that would be ideal for students.
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