Substrakt

We have recently moved from the Custard Factory to just round the corner at Fazeley Studios. We made a conscious decision to remain in Digbeth, despite serious thought to move to the very appealing Jewelery Quarter, where we would enjoy the luxury of good bars, restaurants, and cash points! The main reason for our residing was that we have built good contacts in this area, and are excited about the potential of Digbeth, although we have been slightly frustrated by the lack of progress to date.

Thanks to bigcitytalk.org.uk I have read the Big City Plan options for Digbeth and personally believe a ‘Business Digbeth’ would be a good way to roll. As a growing media business based in lower Eastside this is the option that would best suit us.

Business Digbeth: Digbeth would become a modern city centre business quarter, involving refurbishment of the best buildings and redevelopment of the remainder. The emphasis would be on growing small to medium enterprises including high grade manufacturing, media and services which desire a city centre location. The area would become the focus for international business connected with Birmingham’s diverse working population and would be supported by a high speed next generation fibre optic network. Residential development would have a lesser role but it could include historic / iconic building conversions, live-work studios and other innovative means of enabling industrial, creative, and residential uses to work together. Improvements to the public realm would be encouraged, particularly along Digbeth High Street and High Street Deritend. This option could involve ring-fencing small areas for creative industries and developing more facilities like the Custard Factory.

Improvements to the Digbeth high street are essential. I don’t really need to highlight the fact that there are 6 lanes of traffic in some parts, and pavements that you can’t even walk up when they are crammed full of people waiting at the bus stops. It doesn’t make walking to and from Digbeth from the centre much of a pleasure. Fazeley Street and Bradford Street also have much potential for developing a link that would encourage footfall. I really like the idea of using the waterways more, and this is something that would be ideal in these areas. I was excited about the ‘Warwick Bar’ project, but massively disappointed when i heard it wasn’t going ahead.

I imagine this sort of development would be much more feasible if we were in a ‘Business Digbeth’, offering thriving SMEs a place to spend lunchtimes and evenings.

Iconic building conversions will really help get Digbeth on the map and generate the footfall that it is so desperately in need of. I believe this development would encourage restaurants, good bars and cash points(!) to the area the fastest.

Start-up Digbeth. This option would enable Digbeth to evolve as a neighbourhood where business ventures can begin. A significant proportion of the existing building stock would be protected as a way of harbouring creative and start up industries. The character of the area would continue to be derived from the industrial architecture, reusing buildings where possible, keeping the variety of small workshops interspersed with larger warehouses. Refurbishment would be confined to keeping the space operational in order to keep rents down. The streets would remain functional in character and the amount of new residential development under this option would be limited.

Isn’t this what Digbeth is at the moment? The Custard Factory alone offers start up businesses space at reasonable rates, and aims to facilitate the opportunity for creatives to work in an environment with like minds. The Gray’s already have, and are aiming to, reuse existing buildings to create studio and workshop space. In my eyes this option is already happening. A ‘Business Digbeth’ would no doubt have areas where this development would still facilitate start up businesses, and offer these businesses a network to accelerate business growth.

Living and working Digbeth: Digbeth would accommodate a significant amount of housing as a result of the redevelopment of some of its poorer industrial areas. The area as a whole would retain distinct areas of housing and employment but there would be an increased emphasis on residential. This might include student housing (if there is a continuing demand for such accommodation; demand is forecast to ease somewhat), which would help to support local activities such as the music scene and other creative industries. This option would bring more people into the area to support its local services. Digbeth would go some way towards contributing towards Birmingham’s brownfield housing needs.

Nice idea, but the existing residential areas remain largely unoccupied, and some residential development has been sat unfinished for several months. How would developing this even more help, if the current housing and live/work facilities have limited uptake? The area is directing itself towards a more commercial route, so if this is implemented effectively then eventually the residential aspect will benefit.

Our creative director Jim has just moved up to the Rotunda in the centre, after being fed up with the lack of facilities and the desolate environment he encounters in the evenings (the fact that his flat mate got beaten up and had his Christmas shopping stolen off him outside his front door didn’t help their decision much!) Is this a welcome that new residents would want?

These are my current thoughts, updates are likely to be made.

more info at the Custard Factory blog

I’m holding in my hand a 20 year old document entitled ‘The Highbury Initiative – Proceedings of the Birmingham City Centre Challenge Symposium’. The reason I have this document is that we were commissioned by Joe Holyoak (Architect, Urban Designer, and principal lecturer at BCU) to design the marketing material for the ’20 years on – Anniversary Conference’.

The original Symposium took place on the 25th-27th March 1988, and as a result of a weekend’s intensive brainstorming the foundations were laid for most of the transformation of the city centre which has taken place since.

The participants came from a wide range of backgrounds: architecture, planning and landscape, the development and business worlds, economic development and management consultants, artists, surveyors and landowners, councillors and local and central government officials. They came from many parts of the world: the east to west coasts of USA, Japan, Holland and West Germany.

The theme identified for the weekend was that of the ‘City as Theatre’ because the actions necessary to make cities exciting, attractive, comfortable places can be likened to putting on a show. The participants were divided into six workgroups each with a set of issues to consider:

- Producing the Show – The role of the city centre and resources;
- Setting the Stage – urban design and landscape;
- Casting the Roles – user perception;
- Directing the Actors – movement and transportation;
- Managing the Stage – management and maintenance;

The main solutions to come from the symposium amongst others were:

The Gateways
A ‘clear’ welcome strategy
Routes across the city must be clarified to help people find their way.
Public transport stop-off points must be improved.
An exciting mode of public transport, appealing to visitor.

Distinctive Quarters
- the Jewellery Quarter, entered off Newhall Street – a craft/creative quarter;
- the Chinese Quarter, off Hurst Street – an entertainment and cultural quarter;
- the Science Quarter at Aston;
- a Media Quarter at Digbeth;
- a Convention Quarter off Broad Street;
- Business Quarters off Victoria Square and at Five Ways;
- the Civic Quarter around the Council House

The Ring Roads
The conclusion of this was re-conceiving the role of the inner ring road resulting in reducing traffic within the city by taking away through traffic.

Pedestrian Policy
The overall strategy addressed:
- Access
- Signage
- Linkages
- Pedestrian priority
- Control and enforcement
- Ground floor frontages
- Grain / scale
- Landscaping which reduces traffic conflicts
- Paving materials
- Relationship to traffic, loading, parking, public transport
- Disabled persons
- Secondary systems, including existing arcades and new block subdivisions

All a matter of image?

“- a city in a tearing hurry, addicted to instant success, biggest, first, pragmatic, profitable, confusing, incoherent and monotone. A concept of natural development seemed to have been swept away. There was neither time for people to participate in city development, nor time for the city landscape and its people to absorb that development. Collaboration with time is important.”

Birmingham is sitting on a golden opportunity, but there is a need for economic energy, a new atmosphere and commitment to the end product. London and the South East have peaked and the West Midlands is seen as a current growth region.

This strong commercial base provides direction to the role and functioning of the city’s future, but it has resulted in narrow, single-function centre which offers neither 24 hour activities nor a complete range of activities, since such important elements as housing are missing.

The city has no emotional appeal. It is difficult to find your way around which is particularly daunting for the pedestrian. Open space and greenery are minimal, the potential of canals and water has not been developed; there are too few fine old buildings and no first class modern ones.

Harsh words… but fair? These thoughts, highlighted 20 years ago, still seem important and relevant in today’s Birmingham, particularly Eastside where I would love to see some of this pedestrian joy, greenery, and use of the canals and water.

The symposium produced some essential solutions and made a great step forward for the Cities image and usability. I’m looking forward to hearing the results that come from the anniversary conference to be held on the 14th of April.

This is the first stage of a new piece of artwork by the graphic designer Max Barrett. This artwork, amongst others, will feature on a new web site that will profile and sell works from various artists…
Due to launch mid march.

I have just been chatting to a friend about developments in the eastside of Birmingham, a subject that I am keen on as it is home to our design studio. Our creative director, Jim, has also recently moved to a new flat in Avoca court, as too have several of my friends over the past couple of years. I have limited knowledge of the Eastside plans, and have just heard various rumours and plans. I haven’t managed to find any concrete information or facts informing me of development plans or timescales. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough, or maybe there is nothing to look for at the moment? Please excuse my ignorance if so, and help guide me.

The Council’s link to information appears to be broken.
There is information about Eastside sustainability:
Eastside Sustainability Advisory Group (ESAG)
This site links me to the official Eastside site to find out more, but it’s the council one, that I already discovered does not exist.
Sustainable Eastside
An interesting ‘vision for the future’ document pdf here, from 2002!

As a ‘creative’ area I think it is important to involve all residents in development plans in order to retain the businesses and take on board peoples ideas. I have enjoyed attending events such as the lower eastside dialogues, as they offer an opportunity for people to get their heads together and share interesting ideas.

Manchester’s ‘New Islington’ plan has a web site that communicates (albeit slightly too flashy for my liking, although they do offer an alternative display) the project in a good level of detail and involves the community.

I think the Council should consider producing a web site that keeps the public fully informed of plans, and enables discussion and feedback. I am excited to be in Digbeth and watch it develop, but would like to see this development (or at least the plans and timescales) and feel in some way that we can make influencial decisions.