Over the course of the Festival, we were impressed by the variety and ingenuity of the projects showcased. Whilst everyone presented thought-provoking and inspiring work, there were some standout projects that we all agreed deserved a mention:
SuDS in Sheffield
The Grey to Green Scheme in Sheffield stood out as a favourite project for everyone; the presentation showcased the collaborative approach being taken in the city, depicting how bringing nature into the urban space works alongside their response to water management.
We love the integration of Green Infrastructure and SuDS into a city centre environment; for example the extensive roadside rain gardens, and the ampitheatre design on Nursery St. in the West Bar Quarter, which invites the public down to the water’s edge in an urban setting, while alleviating the risk of flooding by giving the river a space to spill out on to.
Zac Tudor from Sheffield City Council really highlighted that schemes like this can work, we just need more of them!
Zac also made a great point about integrating active travel into designs. Designed appropriately, there's no need to push cyclists on to roads or to the edge of spaces. Including them in the space may encourage people with less confidence to cycle to places they normally wouldn’t, if they don’t have to be in the midst of traffic.
Ellie Sims' (one of our ticket giveaway winners) thoughts on the festival and the Sheffield scheme:
"Seriously interesting and inspiring. My favourite was Tuesday's "A colourful collaboration of design and ingenuity - the grey to green projects, Sheffield". It shows that there are things that can be done within a very urban built environment. Councils all over the country should be taking notice.
I also really enjoyed Tony Juniper's keynote. I'm actually reading his book, "What Nature Does for Britain". The whole festival has given me so many ideas for projects and shown me that I can add certain details or plant specifications that will make a difference.
Thank you so much for the ticket, I really appreciated it."
Building on Brownfield at Stapleton Airport
The repurposing of old infrastructure was an inspiring topic, showcased by the Stapleton Airport redevelopment.
This was a site with many challenges, including contamination from fuel spills, a geographical cliff- creek running across the site (one side was around 30ft sand the other around 300ft of sand), and large amounts of concrete left behind. How to deal with the water was key (and is key to any development). In the end they had to design a way to hold the water for 48 hours before being able to discharge it.
UK residential developments could take a leaf out of their book; they didn’t allow any builder to build more than 12 contiguous houses. The aim was to create socioeconomic sustainability through creating a mixed neighborhood. Development is still ongoing but people love what’s been developed so far.
Blue Infrastructure at Sidmouth Ampitheatre
The role of blue infrastructure was a heavily focused on topic throughout the festival, but a project that stood out was Sidmouth amphitheatre.
A SuDS and flood prevention scheme where water will flow down a swale and into a large storage area. The storage area functions as an amphitheatre, and the tiers can also hold water if needed. The greenspace will be a useable public area, whilst having the functional 'hidden' element of water attenuation. Just our cup of tea!
“Multifunctional & multi-beneficial designs are the most impactful”.
We first ran the blog above as a series of posts on our social media channels – follow us to be the first to get updates in future!
The whole conference is now available on LI Campus at https://campus.landscapeinstitute.org/event/li-cpd-greener-recovery-festival/