LEAF ST: THE SITE
THE HISTORY OF LEAF ST
Leaf St has several prominent landmarks which surround the site. Princess parkway runs adjacent to the site, with another main transport artery Stretford Rd cutting along the south side of the site. Birley Fields, MMU's new campus also has a presence over the south side of the site. Finally, Hulme bridge a visual gateway to Hulme overlooks Leaf St site. All of these landmarks contribute to defining Leaf St as a prominent and accessible site. With obvious landmarks surrounding the site it allows Leaf St to become easily identified.
LANDMARKS
THE CURRENT CONDITION
In the past decade Leaf St has slowly been left to decline. Today it lies without an intended purpose. This elevation shows areas of the site today and how it is used. Residents have described the site as a '30 second journey out of Hulme' with the onsite trees along the footpath acting as a woodland type area. This footpath is the main use of the site, running paralell to princess parkway it is used a pedestrian tranport route.
TRANSPORT LINKS
SITE ACCESS
WHO USES THE SITE
As a site Leaf St can be described as disused. When visiting the main activity happening is that surrounding the site. The main circulation is through the site on the footpath. If visiting at peak times, the pathway is busy with people communting into Hulme and away as the path leads on in the direction of central Manchester. An anomaly to the circulation surrounding the site are people using the site as a cut through from the footpath to Leaf St or vice versa.
However, I found when visiting the site that Spider park has become a point for homeless activity. This is a place where people come to sleep, or stay around during the day. This issue is explained more in the 'the issue of homelessness' section, however it is worth noting here the significance of this activity. Another anomaly is children appropriating the central green space as an area to play. Leaf St is one of few green spaces in Hulme. The red brick estate to the back of the site also uses the back end of the site for activities such as bonfires.
Leaf St is an easily accessible site. Its usage as a park and green space mean that you can access the site at any point. There is the small limiting boundary of a fence around the Claredon Rd part of the site, which also reaches half way down Leaf St. However, access is still simple through openings. The road networks surrounding the site allow for easy access too. Leaf St itself, Stretford Rd, Claredon Rd and Reilly Rd all are connecting links which allow Leaf St to remain well connected and accessed. The site also sits on the main through way from MMU main campus to Hulme just off Hulme bridge, putting it in a key position for pedestrian traffic.
Leaf St is bordered by four roads; Leaf St, Claredon Rd, Stretford Rd and Princess Parkway. In a hierarchy of transport links Leaf St receives the full scale; Leaf St a neighbourhood st, Claredon Rd connecting deeper into Hulme, Stretford Rd connects wards and Princess Parkway provides connections into Manchester. The elevations of each road will need consideration for the amount of people who will connect past them, see them and engage.
BUILDING TYPOLOGY
The site is surrounded immediately by a variety of building typologies. To the back of the site red brick estate made up predominantly of flats. Terraced housing lines Leaf st itself, with this continuing down Reilly Rd. Along Stretford Rd typolgies begin to change. Opposite Leaf st is MMU Birley Fields Campus, which looks directly onto the site. Along Stretford Rd itself and the corner of Leaf St, buildings become commercial.
SUNLIGHT AND SHADOW FORMATION
VIEWPOINTS: WHO IS LOOKING
The video above shops a stop motion of shadows across the site during the winter. This particular shadow study was taken in December when the shadows cast become the longest.
Throughout the day the site is mainly untouched by predominant shadows. However, during the afternoon the site becomes shaded by the taller buildings of MMU Birley Fields. This is mainly an issue during the winter when the sun is lower in the sky.
Sun diagrams shows the angle of the sun during the winter and summer onto Leaf St, also displaying the average sunrise and sunset times. The bottom of the site facing onto Stretford Rd receieves the most direct sunlight, these observations can be considered through the design process.
Leaf St is a well over looked site with three of edges bordered by housing or commercial property. Three streets border the site with the main transport artery of Princess Parkway also running adjacent. Therefore, the issue of viewpoints for surrounding buildings becomes a consideration. All of the buildings produce an opportunity for onlook, with users able to view the vastness of the site. Users of princess parkway also have open views onto the site. These observations can be used as strengths and weaknesses. As a strength, princess parkway having predominant views creates the opportunity for a building to grasp the attention of anyone being transported along the road. As a weakness, there must be consideration for all who overlook the site so their line of sight is well preserved.
Leaf St is a quiet, somewhat neglected site which sits on the edge of Princess Parkway. The sites precise location is shown above at 1:2500 scale, also shown are other green spaces around Hulme. Leaf St is one of the few green spaces in Hulme, the site also has an aspect of a woodland feel too it, especially along the footpath which is the main source of circulation on site. The site provides an interesting base for analysis, surrounded by housing as well as commercial property, bordering key transportation links and adopting key views. This analysis attempts to gain a rounded picture of what Leaf St is like in order for designs to become well excecuted and addressed.
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ISSUES TO CONSIDER: INTROVERTED HULME
On one of the initial visits to Hulme one of the observations drawn was the quietness of the streets. Noise could be heard of children playing, but they were not visible. Through discussion with a local resident I soon learnt about the spaces that lay at the centre of certain housing developments. When Hulme went through its regeneration project these spaces were created. However this layout has lead parts of Hulme to become introverted, where the localities only engage with those around them due to the way their housing is designed. This shows the negative effect of inward looking design can have, through this design process I want to create safe and engaging public space, but create circulation to avoid segregating the outside community.
ISSUES TO CONSIDER: GREEN SPACE IN HULME
Leaf St site is one of few green spaces in Hulme. Although it is a predominantly disused space through most of the year there are areas on site used by locals. These include the bonfire pit at the back of the site, occassionally used by residents in the red brick estate, as well as the green space central to site as a place for games during the summer. There are certain issues that also need to be addressed on site when developing designs for the scheme. Merging the reappropriation of the high st, homeless shelter and training centre with the need for green space will prove challenging. However, I believe that having green spaces for the locals is key in this project becoming a success. There are ways in which this can creatively be achieved so that this becomes a green space where people want to be.