D5 Architects LLP - Projects
17/02/201005 Case Study Area
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Client: D5 Architects
Sector: Research Project
Herbert Manzoni's 1946 plan for the inner ring road separated the city centre effectively from its surrounding central areas including the Jewellery Quarter and the Gun Quarter. The Gun Quarter was more affected than the Jewellery Quarter. The inner ring road split the area in two parts and erased its historical centre: St Mary's Square. The area had already been affected by previous redevelopment schemes, Chamberlain’s Corporation Street project and the extension of the general hospital. But the construction of the inner ring road (1957 – 1971) finalised the end of an industrial area with very little concerns for the remaining craftsmen. The inner ring road had severe socio-economic and spatial consequences. Both quarters lost historically grown connections to the city centre. The rich network of streets to and from both quarters was violently interrupted. Street based, surface level pedestrian connections were replaced by underpasses which segregated pedestrians from vehicular traffic and their surrounding area. This situation has not profoundly changed ever since.