Task 7 - Urban spaces - Castle gate, Nottingham

Castle Gate, Nottingham is also home to an urban space, with much more unique properties than many other spaces. The site sits on the footstep of the towering walls of the historic Nottingham castle. Here there is the famous statue of Robin hood, with several plaques and information boards spread across the area, mainly for the benefit of tourists who visit the site all year round. This is what I chose to sketch first. Because of this statue, the access to historic information, and the castle, its hard to argue with the fact this area was designed for tourists to visit, to walk around and find out about the history of the area. Furthermore, only a 20 second walk down the road is the 'trip to Jerusalem' which claims to be the oldest 'inn' in England. This too is a tourist magnet and brings an influx of people to the area.
 My second sketch looks at the layout of the area with plenty of grass, which is well kept, where, especially in the summer months people can sit and have lunch whilst visiting this historic area. The way these paths are mapped, in relation to the information plaques, and the robin hood statue further support the claim the brief is to design an area for tourists to learn about the history of the area. Large trees offer shade, as the area gets a lot of sun during the spring and summer making it ideal for parents too take there children there too. this area is only a 5 minuet walk from market square, the centre of Nottingham, but it is a very quite area, with little traffic pedestrians.

 Finally, I sketched the site as if you where walking up to it. In the foreground you have the grass area, and in the back ground you have the large tunnels under the walls of the castle. Like the castle, the surrounding buildings are all old, or follow old, traditional styles such as Tudor. Even the Old Trip To Jerusalem was built in 1189. The lack of modern buildings makes the urban space very unusual, and it feels very separate from the rest of the city. I think the council have tried to limit the redevelopments in the area to keep this atmosphere, as plays a massive role in the phenomenology of the area. There is no seating in the area, similarly to the Victoria Square, Birmingham, so it is assumed the area was not designed for people to stay. To conclude, I think the area is another successful urban space, and the client brief has been met.