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Canterbury Civic Centre

Part 2 Project 2007
Simon Ward
University of Kent | UK



A complex site in the centre of Canterbury allows the creation of a carefully planned contemporary link edging alongside the original medieval buildings, the post-war rebuilding of the 50s and 60s, and the crass pastiche of the recent Whitefriars development.

With a nod to Eric von Egeraat, Simon has cultivated the syncopated undulations of the new façade to refer to the rhythmic feel of a medieval streetscape only barely remembered. The proposal coils round and through the site to form a new public square and an orchard sanctuary.

The scheme is identified by the copper clad “cobra head” of the elevated Council Chamber, facing, as do so many councils, in two directions simultaneously.

2007
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