4.10 St. George's Quarter
Vision
With the University of Sheffield as its focus, the St. George’s
Quarter will become an integral part of Sheffield’s regeneration
as a city driven by a new knowledge based economy.
The University will continue to grow as a centre for excellence
in the fields of medicine, biotechnology and law, in addition to
its renowned research programmes in the faculty of engineering.
Together with Hallam University, the University of Sheffield will
secure the city’s reputation as a centre for learning, technology
and creativity.
The meeting of the St. George’s Quarter and the city centre will
be celebrated by the development of a diverse mixed use area with
a strong residential component, promoting a safe and populated environment
throughout the day and night. The activity of the quarter will merge
with the vibrant urban village in the Devonshire Quarter, and the
growing neighbourhood of St. Vincent’s. The further development
of housing for University students and academic staff will see the
creation of busy and vibrant streets.
St. George’s will develop a distinctive and dense urban character
with the redevelopment of vacant and underused sites to accommodate
the demands of the growing University. The expansion of the University
will see the restoration of the former Jessop Hospital as a part
of its campus, which is proposed to house the Arts and Sciences
Departments. The proposed multi-million pound development of the
Resources and Visitor Centre is an example of the University’s investment
in the city centre and its contribution to the new vitality of the
St. George’s Quarter.
Innovative ideas for new buildings in the quarter, developed in
collaboration with the students of the architecture school, will
result in the creation of a nationally renowned city campus, whilst
confirming the reputation of its School of Architecture as one of
the most forward thinking and competitive in the UK.
New development will see ground floor activity being returned to
the street in the form of university offices, foyers and small urban
spaces as casual meeting places. The east of the campus will provide
student accommodation with semi-public courtyards and a small cluster
of ancillary facilities at the core to encourage day and evening
activity and to create a collegiate atmosphere within the University.
St. George’s will become a pedestrian focussed enclave within the
city centre. Safe pedestrian connections will be created throughout
the quarter, accessible to all user groups, particularly at its
key gateways. This will provide valuable links between Weston Park,
St. George’s Church and the city centre, as well as the urban villages
of the neighbouring quarters.
The evolution of St. George’s as a vibrant and pedestrian focussed
inner urban area will be a vital part of the growth of the University
as one of the UK’s leading institutions of higher education.
Comparator projects
| Devonshire Square,
London (Bennetts Associates)
The modern office development on Devonshire Square offers
a degree of visual interaction between the internal and external
spaces. An intimate forecourt has been created which provides
a human scale to the development and allows for a level of
social interaction. Buildings which are open and transparent
at street level in this way would benefit thepedestrian environment
within the St. George’s Quarter which is at present characterised
by blank, inactive facades. |
 |
| Sidgwick Site,
Cambridge
The creation of pedestrian spaces and connections within a
universit campus provides safe and accessible routes for all
students which can also be utilised as informal public spaces
for social interaction. There is a need to create such spaces
in Sheffield University’s campus. A scheme similar to the
one illustrated could be implemented in the St. George’s Quarter
to link the various faculties of the university and create
a more collegiate environment. |
 |
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