4.3 Cultural Industries Quarter
Vision
The Cultural Industries Quarter will continue to develop its growing
reputation as a thriving cultural enclave and will help to establish
Sheffield as a regionally and nationally significant centre for
knowledge and creativity, as envisaged in the CIQ Action Plan. The
new cultural industries will blend with the retained traditional
industries in the quarter to provide a dynamic juxtaposition between
old and new Sheffield.
The completion of the premises for the Yorkshire ArtSpace Society
through the development of Persistence Works, the UK’s first purpose
built artists’ studio complex, have been contributing factors to
the quarter’s success. A range of internationally renowned events
and animation activity, such as the lovebytes New Media Festival
and the International Documentary Film Festival, is raising the
profile of the CIQ and the creative drive of Sheffield. These activities
will be showcased in the studios, galleries and venues orientated
around the quarter’s pedestrianised core at Paternoster/Brown Street
and Arundel Street.
Land uses similar to that of the successful Leadmill Triangle will
extend throughout the quarter culminating at the School of Drama
and Music Technology with its in-house nightclub and theatre venue
for showcasing new talent and hosting national and international
theatre and music productions.
The quarter will become an integral part of the city with the completion
of current proposals for Sheaf Square and Brown Street and the downgrading
of the highways which currently sever the quarter from the rest
of the city centre. Public realm improvements to these streets,
particularly Eyre Street, will see a better quality of pedestrian
experience and linkages with the surrounding retail and commercial
areas. Eyre Street will offer a variety of office and retail space
for ancillary uses supporting the cultural industries in the quarter,
such as ticket offices and music shops. These uses will further
integrate the quarter with the rest of the city, whilst enabling
it to retain its distinctive character.
The industrial heritage of the city will be represented through
the adaptive reuse of the historic built form, while public realm
improvements will further enhance the importance of this industrial
legacy. Street furniture and public art will pay homage to the quality
craftsmanship that made Sheffield a household name and the re-naturalisation
of the Porter Brook will celebrate the important role that the city
waterways played in the city’s evolution.
The continued integration of the quarter with Hallam University
will help develop the institute’s reputation as a national centre
for technological and media studies and reinforce the city’s image
as a creativity and knowledge based community.
The expansion of the Cultural Industries Quarter will provide Sheffield
with a contemporary industrial identity.
Comparator projects
| The Hippodrome
Theatre, Birmingham
The radical approach to the refurbishment of this building
has helped to strengthen the city’s cultural offer. The open
and active frontage conveys a feeling of vibrancy which has
resulted in a reversal of declining audience figures. Modern
interventions of this scale and style would reinforce the
innovative and creative architectural character that has been
established through the construction of buildings such as
Persistence Works. It would also contribute to the Cultural
Industries Quarter’s growing portfolio of high quality cultural
and entertainment venues. |
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