3.2 Urban Form and City Skyline

Gateways

Gateways include sites or spatial sequences which denote a point of arrival. The design of gateways is an essential component of creating a legible urban environment. There are many gateway sites and linkages within the Sheffield city centre and their design will reflect arrival or movement by different means of transport.

Vehicular gateways

The principal vehicular gateways into the city centre are located around the inner ring road:

• Shalesmoor;
  
• Tenter Street (north & south);
  
• West Bar;
  
• Wicker/Lady’s Bridge;
  
• Park Square;
  
• Sheaf Square;
  
• Granville Square;
  
• Shoreham Street;
  
• St. Mary’s Gate;
  
• Charter Row;
  
• Charter Square;
  
• Furnival Square;
  
• Brook Hill/Broad Lane.

These link into key approaches within the city centre including:

• Charter Row;
  
• Arundel Gate;
  
• Rockingham Street;
  
• Fitzwilliam Street;
  
• Tenter Street;
  
• Furnival Street;
  
• Matilda Street;
  
• Eyre Street.

The access loops proposed in the Masterplan will provide further gateway linkages within the city centre.

The design of these gateway sites and linkages will need to reflect that they are entry points for motorists, to be read from a distance and whilst travelling at speed:

• Buildings can be emphasised on gateway sites by adopting a larger scale than their surrounding context. These sites present opportunities for tall buildings, subject to the design criteria set out.
  
• Building form in a gateway sequence should be strong and address the street to create an ‘urban wall’ or a sense of enclosure along the route.
  
• Larger scale architectural detail and careful consideration of building form and profile is also required to emphasise gateway buildings.
  
• Bold, striking architecture in certain instances can create landmark buildings at gateway sites, such as the Ponds Forge Sports Centre at Park Square.
  
• Ground level activity on gateway sites and corridors will signify entry to the activity hub of the city.
  
• Gateway corridors can be emphasised with boulevard planting.
  
• Large scale artworks or theme planting could be selectively used on the many roundabouts of the inner ring road to express a sense of entry into the city centre. For example, the function of a single lighting pole, such as that of the Brook Hill/Broad Lane roundabout, could be incorporated into a sculptural installation.

All of these vehicular gateways also serve pedestrians and this must be a fundamental consideration in their design. The principles for design of pedestrian spaces will apply (refer Public Realm Strategy and Guidelines).

Significant opportunities currently exist to improve legibility and create more distinctive environments along these gateway routes. The completion of the Inner Relief Road will open new development sites, and other roads are being downgraded from grade separated dual carriageways. This will allow substantial redesign of a currently inhospitable and unwelcoming road network. Gateway structures and spatial sequences can be introduced to create a sense of arrival into the city.

Pedestrian Gateways

In the experience of the pedestrian many different types of gateways exist throughout the city: at points of arrival in the city centre; at points of transition between the quarters or the precincts within; or along the sequence of spaces of a movement route. These gateways are also of a scale to apply to cyclists.

Key pedestrian (and cyclist) arrival points and routes into the city include:

• Park Square, which provides access to the city centre from the Victoria Quays and the northeastern part of the city;
  
• Brook Hill/Broad Lane which is a key pedestrian route between the city centre and the university;
  
• From the Midland Station, Sheaf Square and Howard Street lead into the city centre hub of the Peace Gardens and Town Hall;
  
• West Street leading to Division Street and City Hall precinct;
  
• Furnival Square and Charter Square;
  
• Moorfoot/South Street;
  
• Wicker, Lady’s Bridge;
  
• Canal & Riverside Walks.

With the exception of West Street, the urban design of these gateway sites and linkages fails to adequately signify entry to the city in terms of buildings scale and design, legibility, pedestrian amenity and quality of connection. Public realm improvements and new built form must contribute to the creation of a sense of arrival and a flow of spaces along these key routes.

Points of arrival within the city centre also include the bus interchanges and the city centre carparks. At these gateways particular attention must be paid to the design of the public realm and legibility of the urban environment.

Pedestrian gateways do not need to make grand statements. They can be more subtle and read intuitively. Obvious gateway signage should not be necessary. There are a number of means that can be used to signify these arrival spaces, for example:

• Gateway sites can be marked with a taller building structure, a building of a particularly striking design or a significant public space.
  
• Land uses can create a focus of activity at gateways, such as a busy shop or café, a market entry or an important public building.
  
• Changes in public realm details such as lighting, planting or surface materials will signify transition or arrival.
  
• Public artworks can be used to denote a point of arrival or as landmarks along a series of spaces.
  
• A narrowing of entry passages can signify arrival by creating a sense of anticipation and then surprise at what lies beyond.
  
• Landmarks and views used strategically as orientation tools will create a sequence of spaces and buildings.

All of these design mechanisms will add interest to the city. These are the finer grain details that residents value highly in their day to day experience of the city and visitors delight in discovering.

Furnival Square - tall building mark this as a gateway site,
yet are not a memorable design and do not provide activity at ground level.

The street activity of West Street signals arrival into the city centre.

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