In 2006, HTA were appointed by Stevenage Borough Council to
create a new vision for the Town Centre Gardens. At over forty
years old, the 3.85 hectare park had fallen into decline and was
generally perceived as neglected and unsafe. The project
successfully combined the restoration of the structure, character
and heritage features within the Gardens with new contemporary
interventions to give it a renewed relevance for the future.
The Gardens are the primary open space within Stevenage and
are an important example of modernist twentieth century design.
They embody the hope, aspirations and philosophy of the post war
era – access for city dwellers to fresh air, open space and
cultural facilities set within a parkland. HTA’s approach combined
site analysis with community engagement and rigorous historical
research to inform our understanding of its original development,
current use and future requirements. Through our research, we
identified those aspects of the design that required retention and
restoration as well as undeveloped areas of the site where new
contemporary interventions would provide continued interest,
increased use and ongoing relevance into the future.
The Town Centre Gardens are the first New Town park
refurbishment to be funded by the Heritage Lottery. HTA played a
pivotal role in the project; acting as lead consultants, project
managers, landscape designers, architects and contract
administrators. We procured and led the design team and were
instrumental in the community engagement and formation of the
Friends Group.
The design achieves its masterplan objectives by directing
movement, enhancing connectivity, increasing use and enabling event
programming to revitalise and successfully adapt the existing
space. The park’s open spaces and structure have been restored, new
sensory gardens created, the play area renewed and enlarged, and
new toilet facilities sensitively integrated into the landscape to
attract more people to the park and encourage them to stay for
longer periods. The project has transformed the run down and poorly
functioning park into a well used and active place that has become
a destination for both local communities and visitors from further
afield. The increased activity draws people to the Gardens and to
Stevenage Town Centre, acting as a catalyst for change and
regeneration for Stevenage itself.
The design evokes the New Town Era and the modernist
philosophy underlying its design whilst being clearly contemporary
and avoiding pastiche. It celebrates 1950s materials as a reference
to when it was first created – for example, the large-scale bespoke
concrete planters in the new sensory gardens. We also designed a
patterned relief to the toilet block elevation that is a visual
connection to the cast concrete relief on the nearby underpass
created by the well know contemporary artist William Mitchell in
1973. Furniture was also carefully selected and located to
compliment the aesthetic of the park, including bespoke signage
that uses the Festival of Britain font to evoke the 1950s
era.
The centrepiece of the refurbished gardens is a pre-stressed
granite bridge, spanning almost 14m, with a deck thickness of only
28cm and a weight of 22 tonnes. Designed by HTA and engineered in
Germany by Kusser Aicha Granitwerke, it is the first bridge of its
kind to be installed in the United Kingdom. In addition, the “Women
and Doves” fountain, a key feature within the lakes of the existing
gardens, has been carefully restored in consultation with the
original artist and foundry where the fountain was cast.
1500 roses were planted in addition to new herbaceous planting
to reintroduce colour and scent in the park. Over 100 trees were
removed in the northern and eastern sections of the park to
reinstate open spaces and reveal the historic tree massing – groups
of Norway maples combined with the farmland trees that predated the
park. Understorey shrubs were also removed, suckering vegetation
cleared and trees crown lifted to reinstate views and improve
perceptions of safety. The work revealed the lines and bend in the
pond as originally intended.
The project meets high sustainable standards with materials
procured responsibility or reused on site where possible during
construction. Large areas of wildflower meadow and bulbs were
created, marginals’ planted and native hedgerows restored. We also
worked closely with the park staff to adapt their maintenance
regimes so that the parkland is now managed as a biodiverse
landscape.
|