Mark Luck and Wolfgang Buttress: Finding common ground

The regeneration of Britain’s urban areas raise questions about the quality and function of the public realm.  Publicly funded improvements to streets and open spaces are considered essential to attract inward investment, and there is a need to plan for this at a strategic level as well as deliver on the ground

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The activity of public realm enhancement is complex and time consuming, and is all too often determined by the need to be maintainable, affordable and risk free.  It can be difficult to hold on the key objectives of place making, creating distinctive, usable and attractive environments that put people first.

Strategic thinking should aim to direct the evolution of urban areas rather than necessarily look for its wholesale replacement or renewal.  Initiatives that might be termed micro-interventions such as refocusing a familiar view or providing a better setting for street activities can be an effective catalyst for successful regeneration.  The design process needs to embrace a full understanding of the context, and both its physical and non-physical attributes.  Recognising the importance of history, character, activity, legibility, movement, detail and feel are critical to undertaking relatively modest improvements that can initiate changing perceptions about a place and make it attractive for further inward investment.

Urban designers are commonly charged with co-ordinating multi-disciplinary teams comprising, landscape designers, civil engineers, procurement officers, maintenance teams, consultation advisors, community leaders and contractors, whilst managing expectations alongside planning standards and set criteria. Increasingly, and often at the insistence of the funding body, artists are brought into this mix with an unclear brief and uncertain role.

The public realm strategy for the Weston Civic Pride Initiative set out to give confidence, and provide a framework for future projects to enhance the seafront and town centre areas.  The initiative includes a broad public art strategy alongside guidelines for sustainable sourcing of materials, wayfinding principles and lighting, all areas which have not played a leading role in the design and implementation of Weston’s public realm.

Using shared experiences in Weston-super-Mare and more recently developing ideas elsewhere, Wolfgang Buttress and Mark Luck explore the aspirations, common ground and differences between artist and urban designer, that can be used to steer projects and deliver both aesthetic and practical solutions to effective public realm enhancement.