Urban Strategy and Programme Definition: Urban Disposition
The theoretical disposition behind my design was to stimulate the reuse of Manchester's waterways in a sustainable way, creating an additional transport network within Manchester's urban fabric. The initial idea was to provide facilities that provided kayak training to the public allowing promoting sustainable transportation as well as sport and exercise. Further conceptual development lead to the realization that kayak training alone would be enough to stimulate the reuse of Manchester’s waterways, and instead a water taxi would be a quicker way of engaging Manchester’s population with the water network.
The design of a development that engages with Manchester’s water network integrates the architectural design with a physical network. This avoids the design of a development that is isolated and ignorant of its context at a macro scale.
The integration of a transport network within Manchester’s waterways was further explored, providing a solution to the vehicular congestion around Manchester created by commuters entering the city centre. As Fairfield is a peripheral district of Manchester, the development could act in a similar way to a ‘park and ride’ providing commuters with a link from the less congested periphery to the city centre.
The ultimate aspiration of the conceptual design was to regenerate the use of Manchester’s waterways so they support an extensive transport network, supporting a large volume private and public transportation.
