I was appointed to create a creative contextual response to the site, which would exert a positive influence on the design process and outcomes, with a particular emphasis on interpretation and the material finishes of the public realm. 

My brief formed the basis of the Public Art Strategy ‘to inform the emerging design concepts to improve the public realm up to stage D.’ 

‘Southampton City Council (SCC) has long term aspirations for the redevelopment of Central Station, as part of the proposed Major Development Quarter.  Comprehensive improvements to the north side of Central Station are seen as part of an incremental process to deliver this objective, North of Central Station will need to be developed as an incremental project.  The Initial phase will focus on delivering improvements to public realm, public transport interchanges and bus priority within the existing highway boundary.’ Balfour Beatty Living Places + Southampton City Council 

The project focuses on Southampton’s Station Quarter North interchange and surrounding areas of public realm and highway. At the heart of the site is the transportation hub where trains, buses, taxis, bicycles, cars, and pedestrians all meet. Consultation and feedback has been gathered from all user groups and was used to develop the proposals, which have been delivered on site.

I undertook a detailed investigation into the neighbourhood’s social history, topography, ecology, and community culture to uncover contextual information, which inform the area’s current form, identity & reputation. This site-specific and research-led activity assisted in driving the creative concept & rationale, which now underpins the general spatial layout, character, and interpretation of the new public realm proposals. An understanding of the site’s historic physical condition drives the overall theme and character of the landscape & public realm interventions: a varied topography, a wooded valley, a meandering stream, the curve of the historic shoreline & the ill-fated Salisbury to Southampton Canal. 

Bespoke cast concrete seating, retaining structures and paving features

The bespoke concrete works explore the historic & extant topography & geology of the site and more particularly, the movement of water through and upon it. Several streams ran through here, one of which, the Rollesbrook marking the western boundary of the city. Medieval water conduits, amongst the first in the country, cross the site. These waterways have shaped the area and this natural & fluid impact is explored in the profiles, structures and finishes of the seats and retaining structures proposed, as well as embedded lighting.  The positions and siting of the structures assist in navigating through the site, following the adage, ‘the path of least resistance – water always flows downhill’.

The materials specified also reflect this exploration of the underlying geology with warmer tones suggesting the alluvial gravel terraces & shingle, which underlie the site.  The point of confluence between the Rollesbrook Stream & the River Test Estuary is made manifest in the ground-based lighting work ‘Confluence’ which dissects the site along an axis following the line of the stream, which assists in way finding and movement.