Darren had the privilege of hosting a conversation with architectural critic Own Hatherley at Gods House Tower, the organic conversation took in their thoughts on urban design in Southampton, how a masterplan could help the city, the city of culture and how it can inspire the spirit of a place and create a liveable city for the future.

Here we share a few key takeouts from the enjoyable evening.

Discuss the SolentCity masterplan

During a recent Radio 4 Solent City program that Owen looked at the 1960s town planning concept by Colin Buchannan, which took a grid plan reminiscent of Los Angels planning, to tie together Southampton, Portsmouth, and Bournemouth. This concept is interesting to look at now, with the conversation around devolution across the south coast.

At the time this masterplan idea was rejected; which with hindsight, was a great shame as without the local council at the forefront of the conversation, it meant the urbanisation still happened but with developers at the forefront instead.

 

Is a Masterplan the right mechanism for Southampton?

Masterplans can be useful in terms of working out what people are thinking, and it is a useful research tool, but generally they are ‘blue sky’ thinking as they are hard to execute. As the public sector owns so little of the city now it is hard to achieve much of any masterplan, this is not a problem unique to Southampton by a national problem.

Within the UK the culture for councils is not wanting to spend too much money on investment, like engaging with high end architects, as it is tax payers’ money they are spending. Not really since the 60’s has the local council done brave and interesting things with urban planning and development in the city. We are not a poor country, but suffer from a short termism vision when it comes to planning.

What alternatives for the city if Masterplans won’t work?

One way the city could do boost their identity is to publicly celebrate what it does own; invest in the many parks, offer tours of the old town, make SeaCity free to visit, promote the Art Gallery, show off what it already owns.

The Preston Model could work well, based on looking at what is existing in the city and amplifying those. This is a way to celebrate local businesses, community groups, architecture, specialist shops, and building the economy on those local pillars. Imagine if council projects only used local builders, and public events only served local produce, this should be easy to do and could have a big impact on the way we look at the city.

 

What has the extensive land reclamation done for the city?

Land reclamation across Solent water started in the 1920’s and has continued, the reclamation has meant Southampton boasts a prominent port for trade and cruises. It is a very busy working port, which has meant for those living in the city you now have very little connection with the sea. There is only really Mayflower Park in the city as a place one is able to see the sea, but this has park has been rundown, left for scrubland that isn’t designed for anyone.

There are many conversations that compare Southampton to Rotterdam, as they are both major port cities, but the big difference is Rotterdam as a city owns majority of the port and Southampton’s is privatised so the city gets very little back from it. The industrial vitality of the city has meant most people living in the city don’t get many benefits, which is a shame.

Discuss the concept of the City of Culture?

Southampton had been shortlisted in a previous City of Culture program, but lost out to Bradford. Darren asked if Own felt these bids were positive and why Southampton had not been successful.

On a whole these competitions are a good way to work out what is going on in a city, and leads to positive conversation around what can be done; however, it would always be hard for a city like Southampton to win.

As a city, Southampton does not feel like a place in crisis, these awards are often focused on areas that need additional support. Looking at Southampton it has a population that has continued to grow since the 1970’s, it has a world leading university, has one of the best art galleries in the country and growing economy; it is not a city that can rely on external grants like this and it needs to do more with what it has got itself.

 

Can local industry do more for the City?

A lot of local industry that should be investing in the city but it doesn’t. Places like the University are not investing, it has not sponsored civic culture or architecture. As a major world University you would expect more from it than the bland architecture it has used in its city centre student residence.

Unfortunately the Universities feel quite separate, to study here can feel like attending a University with a town attached. Without encouraging this vital integration, it is hard to encourage people to stay after they have finished their studies, but more student retention should be encourage this to have a positive impact on the economy and culture.

As you walk through the city you can see the positive impact of international students, with organic little areas popping up and now able to get amazing Hot Pot and Bubble Tea all over town. It is a shame that international students do not have the ability to stay due to Visa restrictions, this is not something the city it is at government level.

Positive nuggets about Southampton

There are many positives about Southampton that should be celebrated, it is a successful multicultural city, with good housing, incredible green space, a world class university, major sporting hubs and only an hour from London, there is much to be proud of.

In Southampton there are no pure views, you cannot just enjoy pure medieval architecture or pure 60’s developments, wherever you look it is a real mix as you can always see the complex layers of the city. To Owen the mix is the beauty to the city, you need to find the pearly in the oyster sometimes.

 

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