6.1 Urban space & landscape concepts
The public square is probably the most easily recognised element
in a city design. It adds distinction to an area and is a natural
setting for important civic buildings and religious buildings.
It is a place for fine sculpture, fountains and lighting and
above all a place where people meet. Often the important building
and the adjacent square form part of a unified symmetrical design,
linking the horizontal and vertical surfaces.
This simple principal governing the designed
relationship between buildings and spaces can be developed. At
Bloomsbury, two squares, Bloomsbury and Russell, are linked by
a wide formal street, Bedford Place. The sculptures in each square
are positioned to emphasise that the two squares are part of
a single design. At Bath, The Circus, a round open space including
a road, bounded by classically designed terrace houses, is intended
to be part of a series of interesting vistas experienced by people
as they walk to the climax of the sequence, The Royal Crescent,
with its views across the city.
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6.2
Appropriate materials
Until the coming of the railways, all building materials including
those for roads and pavements had to be found locally. The variety
in the geology of Britain meant that as the people in each locality
used locally distinct materials, the appearance of their buildings
and even streets took on a distinctive local character. There
is a desire to retain as many of these local characteristics
as possible, by identifying the historic materials and building
methods and, especially in conservation areas and projects, taking
care to use them in the historically correct manner.
Workmanship and the required final appearance of a public realm
project needs to be accurately specified. For instance York stone
footway paving slabs in a formal street need to be laid with
joints some 10 mm wide. Any narrower and the slabs will be difficult
to lift, without being damaged. Any wider and the slabs will
have the appearance of a domestic garden, rather than a formal
street. Similarly the required appearance as well as a suitably
robust construction needs to be agreed well before works starts.
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6.3
Workmanship
Workmanship and the required final appearance
of a public realm project needs to be accurately specified. For
instance York stone footway paving slabs in a formal street need
to be laid with joints some 10 mm wide. Any narrower and the
slabs will be difficult to lift, without being damaged. Any wider
and the slabs will have the appearance of a domestic garden,
rather than a formal street. Similarly the required appearance
as well as a suitably robust construction needs to be agreed
well before works starts.
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