Newcastle University

MA Urban Design End of Year Gallery Series 2010

This gallery collection shows a sample of work from some of our MA Urban Design students.  The following text provides a brief description to support the imagery shown.

Paul Milner
Urban design for coastal town regeneration - Location: Oban, West Highlands, Scotland:
Oban South Pier / Station, a key node within the town centre, forms part of a wider regeneration framework which was established from an extensive town analysis. Through working with the grain of existing local cultures and the desires of the residents / local council the proposal for Oban South Pier / Station aimed to achieve the following; (i) opportunities for social and rhythmic diversity to occur, in order to increase intersubjectivity, (ii) quality public space to enable active programming, thus increasing chance encounters, (iii) diversification of the local economy to create year-round employment, and finally, (iv) increased connectivity between spaces, appropriate magnets and future phases of regeneration.

Oonagh Baxter
The scheme proposes the redevelopment of a former railway yard as a mixed use, creative community offering workspaces for Dundee’s digital companies, designers, artists and other creative industries. The development will provide creative working alongside sociable living and offer attractive ways to spend leisure time with opportunities to sample the arts and be creative, all within high quality contemporary surroundings.  Located in the heart of Dundee’s burgeoning Culture Quarter, the development has strong links to Dundee University, City Centre and Waterfront and will form a major contribution in Dundee’s efforts to promote the city as an attractive place to live, work and invest.

Scott Savin
The aim of this thesis is to explore the Transition Town model as an opportunity for redevelopment with the small historic town of Berwick. To date several ‘Transition’ initiatives have been instigated but none to an all-encompassing level, which can perhaps only be achieved on an academic level. The thesis will be explored under the following themes: Relocalisation; De-centralised Energy Infrastructures; Re-skilling Communities; Localised Food Production; Low/Zero-carbon Development.

Catherine Russell
Inner cities : on the edge: Shieldfield
Shieldfield is located at the point where the city centre meets the first belt of inner city housing, forming the eastern gateway into Newcastle city centre.   This ‘pinch point’ location means that the area is bound on three sides by major transport arteries and is consequently detached both from the city centre and the surrounding residential areas.  This project aims to improve the permeability and legibility of the area by creating a sustainable, inclusive, and walkable neighbourhood. 

Chunxiao Li
The project is about riverfront regeneration in a poor area of Newcastle's Riverside.  The site provides dwellings, offices, studios, bars and fantastic public realms.  A comprehensive treatment for the river bank and slope area is included.

Bo Hu
Reinventing Hybrid Mall Area:
The site location is Shenzhen, South of China, one of the closest urban areas to Hong Kong.
The images show the process from concept to the design, the master plan and the public realm of mall area.