Market Square - a design proposal for rebalancing the Town Centre

As some of you will know, Alastair Howe, another local architect, and I recently presented proposals to Harlow Renaissance for the regeneration of Market Square in Harlow. As promised, the content to our proposals is reproduced below and we would welcome your comments, thoughts and observations.

Introduction:

Following the withdrawal of Stockland from Harlow Town Centre North Development Proposals in 2010, a group of local Architects, concerned about the stagnation of plans for the reinvigoration of the Town Centre, met with Andrew Bramidge - Chief Executive of Harlow Renaissance, to discuss their concerns, emerging thoughts and ideas for the future of Market Square.

Since that initial meeting, the architects involved have continued to develop their initial thoughts and concepts with the aim of producing a document that provides inspiration for the future direction of Market Square, recognising and addressing its shortcomings whilst building upon the strengths of the original concept, vision and urban fabric.

We hope that this document will help to inform future discussions, not only about the short term future of the Market Square, but also about the reuse and retention of the stronger aspects of Harlow’s Urban fabric and ground breaking master plan

© Mark Cotton

Alastair Howe

Michael Cochrane

October 2010

Market Square:

A Market Square was mooted as part of the original 1947 Plan for Harlow New Town; it was considered that the town would develop as a Market Centre for the Region. A Square more or less orientated as it is now appears in the 1952 Master Plan drawing of the Town Centre. This area of the Town Centre was the first to be completed, with the first shops opening in December 1955. The Market Square was conceived as one of four civic squares in the Town Centre. The first market in the Square took place on 16 May 1956.

Frederick Gibberd recalled that he had “proposed that a market should be the principal space or focus of the north of the Town centre because of my love of the oldest form of English shopping. My grandparents' living room overlooked Nuneaton Market and the scene lit at night by paraffin flames, with its jostling crowd, strident colours and harsh noise has never left me.”

In recent years Market Square has deteriorated significantly. The original trees were removed to provide more space for market stalls, permanent market canopies erected and the surrounding buildings, as well as the surfaces finishes of the public realm itself, have suffered from a lack of regular maintenance.

In addition to these physical symptoms of neglect, Market Square has been significantly affected by the Water Gardens development. The migration of quality retail outlets and footfall to the southern end of the Town Centre has left Market Square somewhat distant and the quality of retail offer has subsequently declined, leading to a lack of animation in what should be a vibrant urban square as Gibberd envisaged.

The market, which should animate the square, has itself declined in quality. This probably has much to do with the wider decline in general of markets as opposed to the particular specialist offerings. When combined with the poorly considered permanent structures, street furniture and paving, this decline in quality has added to the sense of decrepitude, desolation and inactivity in Market Square.

A vicious circle is affecting the Market Square: A perceived lack of quality offer, retail or otherwise, has led to a decline in footfall which, in turn has led to a lack of investment which has affected the perception of the square which further affects the quality of the retail offering.

Recent initiatives to improve Market Square have met with mixed success. The creation of a temporary gallery (below) in 2008 for a variety of artists' projects, clad in a series of designs referencing current and past architectures in the town, was deemed to be very successful in increasing footfall through Market Square and subsequent activities in Market Square have had a similar effect.

The installation of a number of trees in planters in the northern parts of the Town Centre have also been successful in beginning to alleviate the sense of desolation although the lack of maturity and permanence of this greenery is very apparent and their positioning leaves something to be desired in terms of creating a legible urban environment.

Priorities:

We recognise that the first priority for proposals of the nature contained herein has to be to break the vicious circle. For any regeneration project to be successful, be it a new build scheme or an enhancement of the existing urban fabric, steps have to be taken to improve public perception of the area and to drive footfall though. It is only through an increase in footfall that retailers and landlords will be persuaded to recognise the value of Market Square and invest accordingly.

Rather than advocating a “knock it down and start again” approach, we favour an approach that relies on small to medium, targeted, interventions that will act as a catalyst for the release of further, private, investment. To this end, our priorities are as follows:

- Visible activity within Market Square when viewed from the main routes within the Town Centre (e.g. Broad Walk);

- A sense of place and destination within Market Square;

-  A quality Public Realm and Urban Environment within Market Square

Obviously the state of the surrounding built environment does need to be addressed. One of Market Square’s great strengths is the quality of the design of the enclosing structures, although this can be hard to see given the clutter in the square and general state of disrepair of these buildings. It is our contention that these buildings, which form a set-piece of period design, could be resuscitated and enhanced to become a valuable asset to the town centre as a whole.

We recognise that the Local Authority does not have control of the surrounding buildings and must, therefore, rely upon the co-operation of the various land owners in achieving a full renovation of the square. However we firmly believe that if the quality of any interventions made by the Council is sufficiently high and if they are seen to be sufficiently permanent, the Council should be well equipped to encourage investment in the built environment that is outside of their control. An improved, vibrant, public realm will attract retailer demand and rental values which could be invested into the built environment, thus reversing the vicious circle.

The strength and clarity of the architecture in Market Square offers the opportunity to refurbish facades and clean up existing features to create a surprisingly contemporary backdrop for the activities that we envisage in the square itself.

Enhancing existing visible activity:

It is not enough to simply create activity within Market Square, the activity generated has to be sufficiently visible to draw people through the Town Centre, towards and into Market Square. It should also be planned such that it hints at further activity which is revealed as people move towards it.

Visible activity reinforces a sense of place and creates a sense of destination for those viewing the activity from outside.

It is also insufficient to create activity tied to specific times. A busy Market Square is no asset to the Town if, at night, the same square is deserted and foreboding. A successful urban environment must generate activity for a wider timeframe, one that includes early evenings and, potentially, late into the night.

Currently the main source of activity in Market Square is either transitory - people moving through the square on their way through to, or from, the more vibrant retail areas beyond or related to the market and bank. It makes sense to enhance this current level of activity as an early phase of a larger, co-ordinated, attempt to re-introduce visible activity into the square.

We propose that, further to the removal of the fixed stall canopies, the market be relocated so that it is visible, but does not dominate the whole aspect, from the main axis running up Broad Walk. This would reduce the area occupied by the market thus offering the possibility of an intensification of activity on this primary axis and would free up space for complementary activities within the square.

In relocating the market to the Eastern edge of the Square there exists an opportunity to reinvent and reinvigorate the market itself. One of the problems that the current arrangement creates is that the concept of a traditional general market has been lost. The current offering of stalls is somewhat varied and many traders have been allowed to sprawl across a number of pitches in an effort to make the market look larger than it is.

We would encourage the Council to explore the possibility of reducing the size of individual pitches to create a larger number of smaller pitches with a greater variety of goods. Whilst we recognise that the current economic circumstances and the rise of supermarkets have threatened the future of markets, we believe that a market that offers start up businesses and small traders an opportunity to display and sell their wares without the high overheads that a shop or similar premises would entail will generate visual variety and interest and, in turn, attract footfall.  



By providing other activities within the Market Square, casual shopping at stalls could begin to occur. It is also possible that specialist markets could occupy stalls from time to time to tie in with specific events that might take place in the newly created activity space.

Pitch sizes could be determined either by the use of markers within the paving of this area or, alternatively, by the design and construction of properly considered semi-permanent stalls.

Creating new visible activity:

Strengthening the visibility of existing activity within Market Square is a sensible and cost effect starting point, however the introduction of new activity is central to restoring a sense of destination and purpose for this key urban square. The relocation of the market will not only make it more visible from the main shopping area of Broad Walk but will also free up space for other activities. Whilst a vibrant market may well be sufficiently attractive to increase footfall during the day and could function, on occasion, into the evening, it is unlikely that it will be able to generate additional evening activity in Market Square all year round. The right additional evening activity in Market Square could, however, increase the market’s night-time viability.

We propose that the Council refurbish the existing two storey building to the western side of Market Square. This building could accommodate a gallery and perhaps an information centre dedicated to Harlow New Town, its architecture, planning, sculpture, biodiversity and all the other assets the town possesses. The gallery could support the Gatehouse Arts Project as well as existing, established local artists. It could also provide a “neutral” exhibition venue for future consultation on the regeneration of Harlow.

Coupled with the refurbishment of this unused building, and key to increasing the vitality of the square, we propose that an external video screen be erected on the side of the building, facing the square, and an associated programme of public realm works be undertaken to create an outdoor cinema which could be used to screen films. We propose that this space would also create a venue for performance art, school shows, concerts or other such seasonal activities. During the day the screen could be used to raise revenue by screening adverts or perhaps screen channels such as BBC News 24, providing animation. It could display video art related to the gallery use.

By adjusting levels in front of the proposed screen, a stage area can be formed with a lower level area for seating. This area could feasibly be transformed into a skating rink in the winter months. We propose that the single storey Market Office be retained to form a plinth for a major piece of sculpture.

To support the newly created open air cinema and performance venue, we would suggest that one of the adjacent vacant retail outlets to hire out deck chairs, which would also potentially generate revenue. We would also encourage the Council to establish a programme of events and entertainment for this outdoor facility that coincides with the programme of exhibitions etc in the newly created internal gallery spaces. If properly considered, a programme of night markets timed to coincide with events could prove to be very successful.

The introduction of a facility such as proposed here will provide a much needed focal point for the square, during the day this new public space would provide a quality environment for those who work in the surrounding offices or who are shopping in the Town Centre and, at night, could provide an incentive for people to use Market Square as a social gathering spot. When coupled with a vibrant night market, the square can become, once again, the location for communal gatherings and celebrations in Harlow, with the jostling crowds, strident colours and sounds envisaged at the inception of the square.

Creating a sense of place and destination:

The reorganisation and reinvigoration of the market, coupled with the introduction of a viable use for the vacant building in Market Square will go a long way towards creating a sense of activity and “destination” but the square itself needs to be redefined physically to make it a more intimate urban space.

We propose introducing trees (see above) to define areas of the greater square as more intimate spaces to meet friends, rest and play. The trees will also provide a heightened sense of enclosure to the square as a whole whilst still allowing the capacity for larger gatherings. The proposed line of planting frames a view of the Adams House Clock and would establish a strong, natural, backdrop for the listed sculpture on the axis of Broad Walk. Introducing mature trees would provide a natural softening to complement the hard surfacing of the square and surrounding areas.

We also suggest that a high impact lighting scheme is designed and implemented for Market Square. The scheme should not only improve the levels of general lighting in the square at night, which will encourage people to gather in this important urban space, but should also highlight the physical attributes and features of the surrounding buildings, for example the clock and the concrete perimeter of the glazing to the building on the northern boundary of the square, helping to reinforce the sense of place and identity of Market Square.

Creating a quality public realm:

It is not sufficient to simply create and enhance activity in Market Square if the intention is to reinvigorate this end of the Town Centre and thus attract a higher quality of retailer to Market Square. For Landlords and Retailers to have confidence in the area, the interventions that are made must be seen to be made in a meaningful and committed manner. Key to achieving this is investment in the Public Realm: This should be a mixture of short, medium and longer term strategies to further enhance the urban space over and above the improvements outlined in this document.

In the short term, the strategy should focus on short term gains that can be made without great financial expenditure. For example painting the hand railings around the raised walkways and staircases of The Rows would indicate a level of commitment to the area immediately.

In the medium term, a full programme of refurbishment and replacement of pavings and signage should be developed as this will have a significant impact upon the visual quality of the square. The programme could be implemented over time, for example the removal of the permanent canopies could include the repaving and formation of the sunken area proposed elsewhere in this document however, an overarching design should be agreed as soon as possible to avoid abortive or repetitive works.

In the long term, we would encourage working with surrounding land owners to address the issues of poor maintenance of the facades overlooking Market Square. These works could be as simple as instigating a proper redecoration and maintenance programme. An example of a more ambitious approach would be to see Market House reglazed with a contemporary curtain walling system and have the projecting elements expressed, using coloured renders, as architectural elements. This building has the potential to become a striking, iconic, architectural feature helping to establish a strong identity for the whole of Market Square.