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　　Function of Water as a Design Element

　　Cliff Moughtin

　　Professor of Architecture and Planning, University of

　　Nottingham

　　Clearly the most important and the most obvious function of water for city development is sustaining life in the city. The continued existence of the city depends upon an adequate supply of potable drinking water together with water for industrial and agricultural purposes. It is not the intention here to discuss this aspect of the subject; nevertheless, it is apparent that the consumption of water to sustain large urban centres is expanding at an alarming rate. It may be some comfort to know that, in Britain, our own domestic, industrial and agricultural use of water, though wasteful, compares favourably with other developed countries. In global terms the result of the overindulgent use of this not inexhaustible resource could seriously affect water tables and water courses in and around the world’s great cities. Developing a civilized and balanced strategy for the design of water areas in cities may require a more frugal attitude to the use of this most vital of the earth’s resources. The attitudes and values necessary for sustainable development and a ‘greener city’ are discussed more fully in Urban Design: Green Dimensions.4 Since the book’s publication in 1996 there have been a number of alarming reports and political decisions, particularly in the United States of America, which taken together, paint a bleak future for Planet Earth. The Global Environmental Outlook, compiled by the UN, prepared by 1,100 scientists charts the environmental degradation of the last 30 years and looks forward to how the world might appear in 2032. The report estimates that unless cultures change their current ‘markets first’ approach to development, then more than half the world will be affected by water shortages, with 95 per cent of people in the Middle East and 65 per cent of people in Africa and the Pacific, having severe problems.

　　Many towns and cities owe their existence to water, developing around a port or being located at a major crossing point on a navigable river. The water frontage became the focus of commerce, industry and transport. ‘The rapid decline of traditional industry over the last 30 years together with technological change has released large areas of land for redevelopment. This has made it possible to re-use waterside locations to promote regeneration.’ Regeneration, however, depends upon finding new uses for the land and buildings adjacent to the water frontage. More importantly, it also means finding a new function for the water itself which may provide the impetus or raison d’e?tre for regeneration. Regeneration of the water frontage may indeed derive from an older or former use being given new emphasis or direction.

　　The traditional function for the water frontage is one associated with the transportation of goods and people. The movement of goods by water transport has decreased significantly since the heyday of the canal in the nineteenth century; nevertheless, it remains an important function of many inland water- ways and port cities. Water transport, where it is still operating, adds colour and life to the canal as in the cities of Bruges, Venice and Amsterdam or to the harbour of many great sea ports (Figure1). Clearly the movement of people to and from work and for other city journeys is and will remain largely land based. The relative ease of building bridges and tunnels connecting opposite banks of major cities has reduced the need for and the use of ferry crossings. The use of the ferry in cities such as Hong Kong, Auckland, or in Britain at Southampton and Liverpool, illustrate the potential for this form of urban transport. It endows the city waterfront with life and movement, an opportunity which can be seized by retaining and developing public and private water transport.

　　The development of leisure activities holds out a viable prospect for the regeneration of redundant docks and for sites along canals and rivers. Such activities associated with disused water frontages are becoming popular for leisure users. ‘A direct view of water from the window or terrace of an hotel, restaurant or pub adds to its attractiveness and hence value. The light is better, and often reflected upwards; the surface is changeable; there is little or no traffic. One may have a more distant view, or the glimpse of people in boats.’ There are, however, many leisure pursuits which can only be associated with a waterfront. These specific leisure pursuits requiring location close to a waterfront include pleasure cruising, boating and fishing. Marinas and other facilities which serve this expanding water industry are in themselves attractions for the public, and, along with rowing, canoeing and power-boating, generate on-shore activities. Shops associated with fishing including fish sales and aquaria, and museums such as the Maritime Museum in Liverpool, may also thrive from close proximity to water and the activity it can generate. For leisure activities to be successful, ‘A company or group of companies have to be persuaded to create a complex leisure business which is large and exciting enough to be an attraction . . . and if it is not well- designed and well-managed it may never succeed. . . So the waterfront leisure zones have to be managed and must be large and busy enough for this to be worthwhile.’ The days, however, of the large single-use zone are no longer appropriate. The movement towards sustainable development together with ideas about making all parts of the city interesting and lively indicate the adoption of a policy of mixed uses for urban areas. Therefore the notion that leisure alone can regenerate redundant docklands is an idea requiring some qualification.

　　Regeneration of waterfronts is more likely to be successful if a policy is adopted which plans for the introduction of a group of compatible and mutually supportive uses. A function of water not so far considered is its aesthetic appeal. It is a most attractive setting for residential purposes. A number of recent waterside developments have introduced housing fronting onto canals and former industrial docks. Tividale Quays, West Bromwich is an interesting development of this type. The Black Country Development Corporation, now disbanded, was charged, in 1987 when it was set up, with the regen- eration of a swathe of land, 25 square kilometres in extent, ranging from Darleston in the north down to Langley in the south.9 The task included the upgrading of the Black Country canals. Part of this canal improvement included the development of groups of residential properties designed as frontages along the canal; the one at Tividale encloses a large water mass (Figure2).

　　The regeneration of rundown and under used sites adjacent to the Nottingham Canal is a good example of successful mixed use development. Twenty years ago the banks of the Nottingham Canal were derelict, dirty, an unpleasant eyesore in the city. Since then a whole series of developments has been built including housing, a marina, museum, shopping, office developments, the prestigious Inland Revenue Building by Michael Hopkins and Partners, several courts and a leisure complex with bars, pubs, and restaurants. The length of the canal has been cleaned and landscaped; it is now a pretty place to walk, admire the buildings and observe the boat traffic.

　　Rivers, canals and urban coastline perform a crucial role in terms of environmental protection. Waterways, particularly river marginal wetlands, are ecosystems of particular value in urban areas. They are important wildlife corridors, often connecting isolated and vulnerable habitats. While waterways perform this function of maintaining biodiversity through environmental protection they also serve more selfish requirements of the human community: they are essential links in the landscape network which act as lungs for the city and provide recreation outlets for the urban population. As House, Ellis and Shutes point out, these ecosystems have suffered major losses, ‘as a result of flow regulation and speculative land-take, despite the growth of control legislation.’ There is a strong possibility of conflict between the aims of environmental conservation along waterways and the understandable desire to regenerate disused water frontages. ‘Even recreational activities have had adverse effects on the ecology of rivers and streams by affecting both wildlife and their habitats . . . Swimming, canoeing, boating and angling all have a tendency to clash significantly with wildlife conservation. In addition, the perceived desire of the public for intensively managed river corridors is in direct opposition to nature conservation objectives.’ Being aware of this potential clash of interests between development objectives and environmental concerns is the key to developing a strategy for waterfront development which is sensitive to all concerns. The Environmental Statement, a requirement for most major urban developments, containing an assessment of environ- mental effects, is a useful tool in the search for a reasonable balance between these conflicting aims.

　　References

　　1 Sitte, C. Der Stadte-Bau, Carl Graeser and Co., Wien, 1901.

　　2 Kennedy, Maev. Paternoster’s piazzas fit for a prince. In The Guardian, 19 November 1988, p.3

　　3 Krier, Leon and Jencks, Charles. Paternoster Square. In Architectural Design, Volume 58, No 1/2, 1988, pp.VII–XIII

　　4 Simpson, John. Paternoster Square redevelopment project. In Architectural Design, Volume 58, No 9/10, 1988, pp.78–80

　　5 Tallis, John. London Street Views, 1838–1840, introduced by Peter Jackson, Nattali & Maurice. London, 1969