cathedral square: completing gordon cullen's 'stone axis' - LDA Design

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CATHEDRAL SQUARE: COMPLETING GORDON CULLEN’S ‘STONE AXIS’ Over thirty years ago Gordon Cullen, the author of ‘Townscape’, noted two structural elements in Peterborough’s public realm: the north to south ‘Green Axis’; and the east to west ’Stone Axis’ which connects many of the City’s most impressive stone buildings. Our public realm strategy for the City identified the need to implement Cullen’s thinking and the first opportunity to do that was at Cathedral Square when we were appointed to transform the space in 2008. The vision was to create an elegant, uncluttered pedestrian-focused space that would improve the setting of a number of fine historic buildings including the Cathedral Gatehouse, the Guildhall, and St John’s Church, in turn transforming the identity of the City Centre. Delivering this vision required a bold approach, including the demolition of an eightstorey building. The square now reads as a simple wall-to-wall mat of stone with a dramatic water feature as its focus. Water jets are arranged in two triangular groups responding to an important pedestrian route through the space. The project has transformed local business and many more people now spend time in the space with an increasing number of families using it.

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SCHEME

area

Cathedral Square, Peterborough

0.7 ha

CLIENT

schedule

Opportunity Peterborough

2008-2010

location

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Peterborough

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CATHEDRAL SQUARE IN-GROUND JETS dramatic lighting scheme 3 cathedral square - a focal point for peterborough

partners

Sutton Vane Associates, Centre for Accessible Environments budget

£6 Million

visit

www.lda-design.co.uk