By Andrew Moneyheffer & Diana Yu
Modeled in 3D on ArchiCAD, sketched and watercolored over.
West Elevation
North Elevation
Fig 1: Proposed Main Elevation for a New Winchester Market
on Middle Brook St. (West Elevation)
Fig 2: Proposed Side Elevation (North Elevation) of New Market in Winchester
Project 01: Proposals for a New Public Market in the City of Winchester, Hampshire in England.
Date Posted: 24.08.2019
Location: Winchester, UK
Designed by: Diana Yu and Andrew Moneyheffer
As some of you may know, Winchester is an affluent city known for its Cathedral, Winchester College, and well-preserved central network of old streets and buildings. But there is a rather unfortunate part of Winchester which has been blighted by bad development in past years. This area, situated on the intersection of Silver Hill and Middle Brook Street, has more or less become a dead zone for business and social activity. As a resident of Winchester for nearly six years, this always seemed to be an area where small businesses would come and go, never quite able to stick around long enough to commercially take root.
Fig 3. Existing block on the right-hand side identified for regeneration
As such, the council has recognized this area as a place for improvement and have outlined specific points for regeneration as a brief to any future proposals. Consequently, various regeneration schemes have been put forward but have not been successful. For those of you who are local, these are referred to as the 'Silver Hill Regeneration' proposals. Unfortunately for the most part, early proposals have elicited mostly critical and disapproving responses from the local residents.
Despite the political drama surrounding the regeneration proposals, I thought it would be fun to come up with a regeneration proposal of my own as part of the annual office design competition at ADAM Architecture. I teamed up with good friend and colleague, Andrew Moneyheffer, an urban designer, to collaborate together on a design proposal for a new market in Winchester with the hope to find some creative design solutions to improve on the shortcomings of the area.
Fig 4: Proposed Market Building Ground Floor Plan
After an exciting short few weeks of site analysis, in-depth discussion, frantic sketching of design iterations (which would inevitably end up wadded up on the floor), we put together the above proposal. The design was informed largely by the competition brief and local council recommendations for the regeneration in the area. Our proposal includes a number of important social features:
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A two-storey market building to provide an official location for the farmers' market/small local businesses, and vibrant space for social activity, while also permitting 'eyes on the street' public surveillance.
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A ground floor market space and central covered square which would become a new civic space to support community groups and city events.
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Space on the first floor for independent shops/art studios with outdoor terraces, restaurants/bars, and a community roof garden.
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The regeneration of the existing Silver Hill Square to the west of the market as a more vibrant and attractive public square.
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An area where nightlife can also thrive – a factor included within the council’s brief for a regeneration scheme in this area.
The Elevations: The design takes precedent from the old Corn Exchange building (currently the Winchester Library), an existing prominent building which we felt had an architectural language which celebrated civic space. The yellow brick would also tie in nicely to represent the vibrancy of a marketplace.
The Plan: The outline of the building is bound on the west side by Silver Hill Square and Cross Key Square on the east side. The main entrance, accessed from Silver Hill Square, leads into the main market hall where the permanent market structures are placed. As the visitors meander to the center, the market opens out to a central square with steps down to allow for casual seating and lounging on three sides. The fourth or eastern side of the central square does not have steps down and is an area which could be used for stage performances throughout the year or as an area to display public art.
The door entrances throughout the market hall create a sequence of circulation loops into four different areas which could be distinct areas defined by the type of vendors. The various circulation loops also create a more interesting and varied pedestrian experience. Stair and lift cores have been placed on both ends of the building to provide greater efficiency with access and delivery to first floor shops and to address measures for disabled access and the means of emergency escape.
Fig 5: Concept sketch of the marketplace interiors
On the north-western corner in plan, there is a single-story projecting store, designed specifically as a greenhouse/coffee house where you can enjoy a cup of coffee surrounded by a variety of plants, which could also be for sale. We imagined this space to be an architectural attraction to draw pedestrians towards the area from flanking streets.
Upstairs on the north side are a series of small 'pavilion shops' each with its own outdoor terrace. Options for their use are flexible – they could be used as small cafes with outdoor seating, an art gallery with a sculpture display outdoors, or perhaps as an independent shop with a separate market stall installed on the terrace. The pavilion shops would be ideal as artist studios due to its north-facing location which would provide a consistent light throughout the day.
Upstairs on the south side is a large roof garden in a more literal sense. This could be an actual vegetable garden which could then contribute to the market itself. This area also has been intentionally left open to allow southern light to stream into the double-height market hall. The market could be securely closed at key entrances while still allowing access to the restaurants/ shops on the first floor in the late evening.
Fig 6: Possible marketplace kiosk types
Architectural Details: The design includes ornamental details which represent Winchester’s strong agricultural and artistic roots. These could be imposed in a variety of areas. We have suggested a few ideas for these details in the form of column design and frieze detail. Further details could be developed alongside the community and used throughout the marketplace.
We hope the ideas presented here offer some interesting ideas and possible design solutions for future developments in central Winchester. Out of the nine objectives for regeneration set out in local policy WIN4, we feel our proposals cover six points – Vibrant Mixed-Use Quarter, Winchesterness, Exceptional Public Realm, City Experience, Community, and Climate Change and Sustainability.
For more of our design drawings, check out the images in the gallery.