Low-carbon landscape vision in Wolfson Prize garden city projects

Low carbon as a critical element in

landscape regional infrastructure

Anastasia Nikologianni, Professor Kathryn Moore and Professor Peter Larkham

This paper explores how two entries in the 2014 Wolfson Prize competition for

new garden city proposals dealt with issues of “low carbon” at the scale of a

garden city.

Originally presented at the conference “Planning for sustainable urban form”,

Swedish School of Planning, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, 2014

How do we think about low carbon design of new urban areas ?

Garden Cities

Louis de Soissons, illustrated by Francis Nugent

Cachemaille-Day, ‘Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire:

town plan indicating zones, road and rail communications,

buildings and open spaces’, 1920. RIBA Library Drawings

Collection.

Geoffrey Jellicoe, Motopia, A Study in the Evolution of Urban Landscape, 1961.

Sustainability ?

What does sustainability / low carbon look like?

What elements do we expect from a low carbon infrastructure project?

Helmut Jacoby, MK in 1990, Aerial Perspective, Graphite, Milton

Keynes Main Centre 1974-1990, 1974. Courtesy of Derek

Walker.

Studio Linfors (Clouds Architecture Office), Cloud Skippers, 2009. c Studio

Lindfors. The floating city re-imagines community as it focuses on

sustainability both in the air and with its fixed resources.

Garden Cities: The Wolfson Economics Prize 2014

Uxcester Garden City / Urbed Stoke Harbour Garden City, Hoo Peninsula,

Medway, Kent / Shelter & PRP

How would you deliver a new Garden City which is visionary, economically viable, and

popular?

‘’…Whatever is built has to be inspirational, has to inspire people to want to build it. I would

like to live there. …’’ Lord Wolfson - Wolfson’s Economics Prize 2014 Launch event

Uxcester based on a

Snowflake – Trellis – Vine concept

Stoke Harbour designed with the principle of

Integration with landscape infrastructure.

‘’Each of the component neighbourhoods

of the Garden City needs a trellis to give

it a clear, legible structure as well as

balance and beauty. This is the

masterplan that gives shape to its streets

and spaces’’.

‘Landscape approach is driven by the

principle of integration with existing

topography, water courses, agricultural

patterns and movement networks’’.

Uxcester based on a

Snowflake – Trellis – Vine concept

Stoke Harbour designed with the principle of

Integration with landscape infrastructure.

1Ha of green areas for every Ha of built infrastructure

Economically vital Access a huge area of countryside

that was private Sustainable neighbourhoods Walking/cycling routes and public

transport Avoid flood plains Self build housing Renewable energy schemes

40% green space Own economic purpose Access to green areas, parks, tree

avenues, allotments, orchards Polycentric city / neighbourhoods /

walkable distances Walking/ Cycling routes and public

transport Water a defining feature / flood defence Self build housing Grid for renewable energy

Stoke Harbour Garden City

Hoo Peninsula, Medway, Kent

Water Strategy

Swales: Sustainable urban

drainage (Low Carbon)

Swales and rain gardens/

Designed for flood defence

or drought

Valley water courses

Interaction

with the riverHarbour at low-lying

brown field land

Harbour is a buffer to sensitive

areas and flood defence

mechanism (Low Carbon)

All districts close to

water edge

Irregular water

not repetitive

Use canals to link

the heart of the city

with the harbour

Integration with the topography

Water: Defining feature

Uses together with green strategy to define districts

Water in districts. Use it

to power energy

Water links



Green Strategy

Linear Parks and green network Increase O2, Decrease CO2 (Low Carbon)

Tree lined avenues

Orchards/Allotments

Local production

(Low carbon)

Irregular green (again)

Not repetitive

All districts close

to green edgeUse green routes to link the

heart of the city with the

countryside

Green links to the Countryside



NeighbourhoodsWalkable districts

Less use of car, minimizing CO2

emissions (Low Carbon)

Polycentric City

Polycentric city

Divided to neighbourhoods

Each centre connected

with two more nearby

All centres around 800m

away from the main city

centre



Main Transport Strategy

Connection with the

heart of the city

Peripheral Road

Roads develop a grid

Bus route only described in text

not presented on masterplan

Traffic calms naturally

Alternative/relief routes

Avoid traffic (Low Carbon)

City bisected

by the railway

Area bounded by

main road and coast

Connection with

city nearby

Re-opening the

passenger rail service

River Ferry (Described in text only)

Footpaths (Low Carbon)

Cycling routes

Main Transport Links



Green Analysis

Public and private

green spaces

Linear parks

Link public spaces

All the areas and

buildings have access to

green space (Low Carbon)

Dense green

infrastructure

40% Green Spaces

Less dense



Housing Strategy

Low density houses Other commercial

facilities

Self-build for individual style

Not repetitive

Less dense

settlements

Semi-detached

Medium density

housing

Living & Leisure space

Interaction with the river

Medway

Up-market waterfront

properties

Heart of city

Shops, services, open

spaces in short

distance (Low carbon)

Housing

Density Low Medium Centre



Structure of the Settlement

District heating (Low carbon)

Savings in carbon emissions

Low Carbon Infrastructure for

energy suggested in text

Where is this evident in masterplan?

Why Grid?

Easier to integrate

the different grids

Power station

Movement Grid

Green Grid

Blue Grid

Energy Grid

Grid strategy

Country parks at

the edge of every

extension (Repetitive)

No green

strategy that

links with the

heart of the city

Smaller parks between the

neighbourhoods (Repetitive in all the

extensions)

However all neighbourhoods

have parks nearby (close to

nature concept)

Decrease CO2 (Low Carbon)

Green Strategy around the new extensions

Green areas

New green areas

around the extensions

Parks between the

neighbourhoods

Uxcester Garden City

Green Strategy


Water Strategy

Water Presence at

the masterplan

Two repetitive areas of

water at the surroundings

of each extension

No link presented with the

heart of the city and the water

No visible strategy of flood

defence/buffer strategy (that

could be low carbon)

No access to water from the districts

Not used to define districts

Water Links


Neighbourhood Strategy

Some neighbourhoods

further away from city centre

Walkable (Low Carbon)

One centre of the cityMany smaller squares in

each snowflake, but not

centres

Always five

round shape

neighbourhoods

Each centre connected

with the others

Seems to have

walkable districts

Each one 10mins away

from open space

‘Extensions’ Links


Main Transport Strategy

All the neighbourhoods have to go through

the same road to visit city centre

Congestion/no Low Carbon

Neighbourhoods follow the

trellis for road development

One main

motorway

towards the city

Congestion ?

Links to the country parksTram is proposed not

presented. Maybe is the

red line, but it is not clear

Walking and cycling

routes are not clear

Bus route is not shown

Main Road Infrastructure


Green Strategy Neighbourhood

Local park

A few green avenues

in main streets

Employment and retails areas,

just trees not green open space

Repetitive green in housing

Green space/residential areas

Orchards/ Allotments are not

presented

Links to Country Parks

Drawing submitted in the final proposal


Housing Strategy

Is there a distinctive

difference?

No shopping. Only a

few in the periphery.

Main shops in the cityNo Low Carbon

Heart of

neighbourhood

All buildings repetitive

No employment between the

settlements

Employment on the outskirts

Housing Density

Low Medium Centre


Landscape Integration


Landscape Integration

Visualization of Uxcester

Visualization of Stoke Harbour

Modern housing

Green space on the outskirts

No water interaction

Walking and Cycling routes design, but

will they work without any motivation?

Water and green areas defining features

Allotments, orchards and open spaces as

part of the plan

Canals and swales designed for floods and

as a social attraction

Employment into the city

Motivation for low carbon life

Times ‘words’ appear in the document

Next Steps

Interviews and workshops with designers

Analysis of more garden city designs upon the Wolfson Prize and

significant infrastructure projects

Exhibition as part of the methodology – two groups

Case study (visits)

Thank you for your attention

Education

Low-carbon landscape vision in Wolfson Prize garden city projects