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The Willow Bike Sheds

Part 1 Project 2014
Miles Kelsey
 Nottingham Trent University | UK
“There is a distinct boundary and relationship between water and land, through colour, texture, sound and many other elements. There are few instances when this boundary is successfully bridged, however riverbank vegetation, in particular Willow Trees manage to display how this barrier can be crossed and interacted with, to create a unique and romantic connection between two very different environments.”

Nottingham has great potential to create seamless connections to its rural surroundings due to its compact city structure. However, at present the area is not making the most of these opportunities. The River Trent lies just south of the city centre and inadvertently acts as a constraint and a barrier to the southern expanses of countryside and natural beauty. The Willow Bike Sheds aim to turn this constraint into an opportunity by distinctly highlighting the beauty between man-made and natural, built form and landscape, water and land.

Latching onto an area renown for water based activity and recreational use, The Willow Bike Sheds propose an intimate cycle centre and landscaped cycle route, uniquely placed on a linear strip of land within the river itself. Key links between the city centre and the countryside south of the River Trent are exposed to their fullest potential, allowing users to appreciate Nottingham’s ideal placement within the scenery of the Midlands.

A series of spaces including a café, hire centre, retail outlet, repair space and observation tower emerge out of a twisted, undulating cycle route, and act as checkpoints or pit stops to both cyclists and pedestrians. These built elements appear as lightweight permeable structures that extend the land on which they sit, challenging the boundary between land and water.

The aesthetic approach is inspired by the vegetation around the site and its influence on the relationship between these two elements. The plant life, in particular Willow Trees, that line the riverbanks act as bridging elements that compliment the relationship between water and land and it is this factor that is expanded upon, reproduced and explored through the design and delivery of The Willow Bike Sheds.


Tutor(s)
Andrew Wheeler
2014
Nottingham has great potential to create seamless connections to its rural surroundings due to its compact city structure. However, at present these opportunities are not being fully exploited.
The site chosen to help overcome this issue is situated in Colwick Country Park, just south east of the city centre and provides the potential for a unique Cycle Centre.
Both movement and connectivity operated as design themes enabling the design process to follow consistent aims and objectives.
There is a distinct boundary and relationship between water and land. There are few instances when this boundary is successfully bridged, however riverbank vegetation, in particular Willow Trees manage to display how this barrier can be crossed and intera
The design process stemmed from a combination of the design themes, the design concept and various site observations.
A series of spaces including a café, hire centre, retail outlet, repair space and observation tower emerge out of a twisted, undulating cycle route, and act as checkpoints or pit stops to both cyclists and pedestrians.
The Café area combines intimate and private seating areas with jetties and piers to allow users to experience the river as closely as possible whilst mirroring the branches of a Willow Tree.
The Hire centre acts as a partially permeable structure developing a connection between indoor and outdoor environments.
Timber joists extend out over the sites edges and tentatively bridge the boundary between land and water.
The Hire centre sees the transition between pedestrian and cyclist and is where users are brought down to water level.
Where edges of the cycle route extend out into the water, they appear eroded by the river. Where the built forms extend into the cycle route they follow the same principle, as if eroded by the flow of users.
Each built intervention orientates itself at 45 degrees to the site to allow for efficient and easy use by both cyclists and pedestrians.
The structures are designed to mimic the external environment wherever possible to maintain a direct connection to the immediate surroundings.
The structural design stems from the design of a traditional bike shed design, mirroring its temporary aesthetic with timber and corrugated steel elements.
The Willow Bike Sheds provide a destination and new pull factor from the city centre to encourage users to explore the south of the river.
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