RIBA CABE Public Space Award - architeria.eu

OLD MARKET SQUARE WINS THE RIBA CABE PUBLIC SPACE AWARD


The Old Market Square in Nottingham by Gustafson Porter has won the inaugural RIBA CABE Public
Space Award.

The announcement was made on Saturday 11 October at a special awards ceremony for the RIBA Stirling
Prize in association with The Architects' Journal at the BT Arena and Convention Centre in Liverpool.
The winner was announced by Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government and the winning practice was presented with a cheque for £5,000 by CABE’s Chief Executive
Richard Simmons.

The RIBA CABE Public Space Award celebrates publicly accessible external space. It may be green or grey,
urban or rural, privately or publicly owned, designed or re-designed and re-furbished for public use.
It might be a street, a square, a park or even a corner, as well what is more conventionally thought
of a 'space between buildings.'

The new square achieves a successful balance between creating its own identity and providing a flexible
space for public amenity and civic and cultural events. The old square adopted a strict geometric orientation
towards the Council House; the new layout is less structured, providing a more fluid, inviting public space.
The previous listed design acted as a deterrent to public access with the vast majority of people avoiding
crossing the space due to the many steps and low walls. The new design improves disabled access
and allows the surrounding buildings both to complement each other and stand out individually for their
architectural character.

The design sympathetically uses the changes in level to provide flexible seating, to integrate the planting
and to provide relief to the hard finishes. The resulting design forms bands of terracing and ramps leading
to and from the extensive water feature. This encourages Nottingham residents and visitors to spend time
enjoying all the diverse activities the square plays host to. The water feature uses the varied characteristics
of water to provide visual and acoustic benefits. The varied jets, the reflecting pool, sheet water flows
and cascades all serve to provide amenity for young and old: some come to admire their city in
the reflecting pool, others to get wet.

Limited tree planting provides larger scale seasonal interest around the perimeter of the site, whilst planting
in the stepped planters allows the city to demonstrate its award-winning horticultural skills.

With a history going back 800 years this large space retains its own distinctiveness and sense of place
through its sympathetic response to existing site conditions. The presence of traffic and trams to two sides
of the square provides connections to the wider area without compromising the visual integrity of the
central space. The new square is also doing much to rid the city of its violent image in the media.
The community has clearly given life to the square with the diverse activities and human interaction acting
as a constant cabaret and source of visual excitement. It is a worthy first winner of this important new
award.

Speaking about the building, Sarah Gaventa, Director of CABE Space (sponsors of the prize) and one
of the judging panel, said:

"With a history going back 800 years this large space retains its own distinctiveness and sense of place
through its sympathetic response to existing site conditions. The presence of traffic and trams to two sides
of the square provides connections to the wider area without compromising the visual integrity of the central
space. The new square is also doing much to rid the city of its violent image in the media. The community
has clearly given life to the square with the diverse activities and human interaction acting as a constant
cabaret and source of visual excitement. It is a worthy first winner of this important new award."

The other shortlisted buildings for the award were:

1. Royal Festival Hall, London by Allies and Morrison, Landscape Architects Goss Max, Masterplanners
Rick Mather Architects.
2. Royal Observatory, London also by Allies and Morrison .