LEX WALSALL
COMPETITION 2ND PRIZE
FUNCTION: Mixed Use Masterplan
SITE AREA: 1.55 Hectares
LOCATION: UNITED KINGDOM
THE WALLSALL REGENERATION
Lex Walsall Waterfront Regeneration project is part of a government directed program to rejuvenate the region – to transform the post industrial town of Walsall into a global city.
Our proposal negotiates this overwhelming ambition and the promise of an accelerated transformation with the persistence of the local context and the adaptation of a township.
THE SATURATED GROUND
The ground plane is enriched by saturating the site with a multitude of differentiated pockets spaces framed by modestly sized shop-houses. The two storey shop-houses constitute the DNA of the proposal by simultaneously framing open spaces, blurring the edges of the larger monoliths and dictating their vertical circulation and access.
MASTERPLAN AS STRATEGY
Our strategic layering of the monolith over the shop-houses creates a difference in scale, forming a flexible masterplan and that is both conducive for inward investment and contributes to the growth of the local community.
The preference of a masterplan over a single iconic megastructure allows the project to be phased and formalised gradually in conjunction with the growth of Walsall instead of reducing this regeneration project to a single make or break event.
POROUS GROUND
With the ground as urban grain this proposal creates a subtly layered buffer zone which progressively phases out the hectic atmosphere of the road whilst attracting visitors into a bustling succession of differentiated open spaces. The concepts of fragmentation, flexibility but most of all urban village have dictated our design so that ultimately the ground plan attempts to encour-age a vibrant mix between the township/ community and temporary visitors to Walsall. The LEX site presents the potential to establish the flagship and window of “local” regeneration.
CREDITS
INVOLVEMENT: TYPE 0 COLLABORATIVE