Could Guiding Lights by Chris Paterson become a reality?

Last month the winner of the Forgotten Spaces competition was announced.

Guiding Lights, designed by Chris Paterson, brings to life Frog Walk, between Stalker Lees Road off Ecclesall Road and Sharrow, with animated avatars and an LED screen.

Although Forgotten Spaces was originally all about ideas, the organisers are wanting to explore the possibility of making some of the entries a reality:

We want to start a city-wide dialogue about how these ideas could be turned into real-life projects. If anyone has any suggestions about to move these projects on and get them to contact Gerry Togher on g.togher@shu.ac.uk. It would be great to think we can get a kind of forum going where people can come together to discuss some potentially really exciting projects.

So if you have any thoughts about how this could happen, or are simply inspired by the project and are keen to see how the ideas could become a reality, get in touch with Gerry.

On Monday, the winners of Forgotten spaces will be announced. We’ll get to see the results of the competition which asked architects, designers and artists to come up with new uses for Sheffield’s forgotten spaces.

It will be interesting to see whether any of the entries looked at what could be made of Fitzalan square, which surely is one of Sheffield’s most prominent, under-used and forgotten public spaces.

The old post office building, Fitzalan square

Walking through a couple of months ago, I was struck by how good the square would have once looked. It gets plenty of sunshine and the trees offer a nice bit of shade, as well as some greenery to contrast with to the buildings.

I don’t know that much about architecture, but look closely and you’ll see just how impressive these buildings are. I don’t think Sheffield has anywhere near as much Victorian architecture compared to many cities of a similar size, but in Fitzalan square you’ll find the magnificent old post office dominating the south side. This grand old grade-II* structure has stood empty since 1999 and sadly been left to fall into disrepair.

Fitzalan square

On the west of the square there is another attractive building, towering five stories high with balconies on the windows and five beautiful arches on the ground level which are currently operating as retail units.

Adjacent to this on corner of the square and High street is the square’s most famous building. Now a motorcycle accessories store, the Marples building used to be a seven storey hotel but was completely reduced to rubble by bombing during in the war. The building you see there now was constructed in the 1950s.

The Marples name lives on in the square by means a small fast food hut. A statue of King Edward VII stands in the middle of the square, which was cleaned up and illuminated in as part of a facelift in 2003.

King Edward VII statue, Fitzalan square

Despite the impressive buildings and the statue centerpiece, Fitzalan square doesn’t currently feel a enticing place to hang out. I took these photos over a lunchtime when there was just a single office worker enjoying his dinner there.

The roads around the edge of the square leave you feeling a bit isolated and hum of running engines in the taxi rank on the west side doesn’t make it particularly relaxing. Some of the businesses on the square – an amusement arcade and betting shops – also don’t really add much charm.

The good news is that that there are signs of recovery. The old post office building has been bought* and will be repaired and restored to a basic level before a further development is announced. Apparently it won’t be a hotel or flats.

Marples food hut, Fitzalan square

This may be the lease of life that the square needs and a catalyst for some positive further development. I think the centre of the square could be remodelled, some of the roads pedestrianised and if they manage to attract the right businesses – some decent shops, perhaps a nice pub, cafe or restaurant trading on the Marples name and with outside tables – it could give people a reason to visit.

I’m not sure to what extent the recession has affected this bit of the Sheffield city centre master plan, but the original idea was to develop the route between Victoria quays and the High street, open up what’s left of Sheffield castle and landscape a park around the remains. If this is ever happens, it will at the very least be a huge benefit to Fitzalan square. Hopefully the planners will include it as a key part of their overall vision.

For now, the next step is the plans for the old post office building, which we should find out about in early 2012.

*ignore the main picture on this article, for some reason the Star has chosen to show a picture of a separate University of Sheffield development

Moore St Sub Station by http://underclassrising.net/, used under the Creative Commons license

If you have any interest in the history of the buildings in Sheffield then this event in September is well worth checking out:

‘Brutalist Speculations and Flights of Fancy’ on Friday 9 September (11am-7.30pm) is an exploration of Sheffield’s six best Brutalist buildings (Park Hill, Castle Markets, the Electricity Substation on Moore Street, The Holy Cross Church on Spotswood Mount, Norton Water Tower and Psalter Lane Art School.

The event at the Site Gallery will open with guided walks to some of the buildings, followed by a series of presentations, a book launch and reception that will explore proposals and enquiries, speculations, and flights of fancy based around the position that these Brutalist buildings hold in Sheffield today.

Writer Owen Hatherley will be speaking. He’s the guy has written several pieces on Sheffield’s buildings, including one where he suggests that in terms of architecture, Sheffield doesn’t know how good it is.

Brutalist speculations and flights of fancy, 9 September 2011

Castle Market by the justified sinner, used under Creative Commons license

This fly-on-the-wall-style documentary shows a day in the life of Sheffield in September 1973. There is no commentary, and the only real narrative is the progression of events, with the cameras returning to certain stories – such as a birth, a death and a marriage – throughout the day.

In terms of visual change, there is plenty to look out for. The cooling towers form part of the backdrop; Bramall Lane still has tall floodlights on the corners of the ground; the Peace gardens are the old layout; people are still using outdoor loos; the Black swan (aka the Mucky duck) was still open; and at one point I think you can spot the now-demolished Kelvin flats.

The local media also feature quite prominently. An audio clip announces that it is ‘Radio Sheffield breakfast magazine edition one’, although with the station going live six years previously, it presumably wasn’t the first incarnation of the breakfast show.

We also get to see behind the scenes at an editorial meeting at Sheffield Newspapers, where the front-page news is that the corporation is to halt council house building and a bread delivery lorry’s brakes have failed, causing it to crash into a Walkley house.

Some of the seventies background music makes scenes from All in a day reminiscent of City on the move. And I couldn’t help being reminded a little bit of the beginning part of Threads. Obviously, the turn of events in All in a day isn’t so tragic, but to a viewer who wasn’t born in 1973 and who was only young in 1984, they both have a similar old-Sheffield feel.

Oh and look out for the bizarre, symbolic juxtaposition of a priest leading communion, ‘This is my blood…shed for you and for many for the remission of sins’, which then cuts to a pig being slaughtered.

You can watch the All in a day documentary below.

A debate is rumbling about whether or not Castle market should be listed.

Giving it listed status would mean that it would be much harder to press ahead with some elements of the Sheffield city centre master plan, notably the idea to open up the ruins of the old castle, which are located under the current 1960s market building.

The arguments are discussed in this post on the Bleeding heart show blog:

There’s no doubt that if the decision is made purely on aesthetic or historical grounds, the council would have their demolition day. But when you consider the decision on social grounds, things get somewhat murkier.

The full post is well worth a read.

A tale of two castles post on Bleeding heart show blog

Castle market by daskine on Flickr, used under the Creative commons licence

In case you missed it yesterday, the world-famous Sheffield nightclub Gatecrasher is set to return to the city this September in a new home.

Gatecrasher has submitted £5m plans to turn the basement of the cheesegrater car park on Charles street into a 2,000 capacity venue. The proposals can be viewed on the Sheffield city council website.

They are urging people to get behind the application via their website and a Facebook fan page and event.

The previous Gatecrasher (nee Republic) venue on Arundel street burnt down in June 2007.

The distinctive cheesegrater building seems to be a generally well-received addition to the city skyline and I think this makes it a relatively good choice of location. Presumably having a night club located in the basement will help minimise any excess sound escaping and affecting city centre residents.

If the new Gatecrasher does get approved and built then it also won’t do any harm to Sheffield’s City of culture 2013 bid.

What do you think, has it been missed? Is there any reason why we wouldn’t want to see the return of Gatecrasher to Sheffield in this location?

The Gatecrasher fire of June 2007 - Disco inferno by suburbandk, used under Creative commons license

In November 2008 I wrote a post about the proposed New Brooklyn bridge across the river Don in Sheffield. The floods of June 2007 delayed construction but 2009 was expected to see at least the flood wall protection being built, after which the building of the bridge could follow.

I thought I’d get an update on where the project is at. Sheffield industrial museums trust says that construction of the flood wall is due to start imminently now that the tender for it has been awarded.

The changes to the flood wall meant the bridge itself needed to be redesigned and this is now underway. When complete, the cost of the new design will be assessed and the trust will then see if the original sponsors are still on board. They will then work out what the funding gap is and decide if money can be raised to fill it.

There are also complicating factors such as whether the current residents of Brooklyn works will be as supportive as those when the bridge was first proposed, and also whether the proposal to put a water wheel back into the wheel pit to generate electricity for the museum will be compromised by the tower’s affect on water flow.

So although the construction of the bridge is still some way off, the good news is that the project is still moving along.

Brooklyn Bridge Blue by Dave Kliman on Flickr (used under Creative commons licence)

A few weeks ago I finally got round to watching Threads. If, like me, you are too young to remember it from when originally broadcast, it is a 1984 TV play that depicts the effect of a nuclear attack on the country, and in particular Sheffield.

Given the subject matter it is unsurprising that Threads makes for as grim viewing today as I expect it did 25 years ago when cold war paranoia was perhaps at its greatest. The extended synopsis is on Wikipedia.

If you can see past the bleak story, then the fact that it is set in Sheffield also adds a level of interest. There are plenty of landmarks to pick out including the eggbox town hall extension, the city hall, the Moor, Finningly in its days as a RAF base and the Nottingham house pub in Broomhill.

After the explosion hits Sheffield, there are shots of a devastated city centre that don’t look too dissimilar to the Moor in recent times.

However, it would be a mistake to watch the film and expect to come away warmed by the rose-tinted glow of nostalgia. Judging by the reviews on Amazon, it seems that Threads had quite an effect on the people watching it back then.

Memories of Threads and its association with Sheffield seem to live on. In the recent edition of Fighting talk recorded down at Ponds forge, one of presenter Colin Murray’s opening quips was ‘I thought I’d driven through the post-nuclear set of Threads 2 last night until somebody told me it was Manor council estate’.

Someone has uploaded the whole thing to Google video, so you can watch Threads online now. Be warned that parts of it are quite harrowing though and may not be suitable for young children.

Do you remember watching it on TV in the mid-80s, or have you watched it since? How shocked were you?

Here are this month’s additions to the list of Sheffield people and organisations of interest on  Twitter. The full directory can be found on the Sheffield Twitter users page.

There is also a Twitter list of people and organisations in Sheffield in Twitter.

First e11even – regional football magazine
@first_e11even

Louis Louis – electronic music DJ/blogger/promoter
@louis_louis

Fairy communications – PR/communications agency
@fairycomms

Judith David – copywriter
@JComCopy

Safe at last – charity
@safeatlast

Mark Howe – illustrator
@howiehowe

Sheffield start-ups – encouraging people to create internet start-ups in Sheffield
@sheffstartups

Sheffield snow – everything you need to get you through the snow
@SheffieldSnow

Sheffield weather – a two-day forecast tweeted every morning and weather warnings
@SheffWeather

City magazine – Regional magazine company magazine
@CityMagSheff

Gossip girl – columnist from City magazine
@gossipgirlcity

No money records – hip hop record label
@nomoneyrecords

Data dream – software development
@datadreamuk

Sheffield college
@sheffcol

Advanced manufacturing news for Sheffield
@AMM_ShefRegion

Sheffield university health service
@SheffieldUHS

Norfolk arms – Ringinglow road pub
@norfolkarms

Blundells – estate agent
@blundells1

MAD architects
@MADarchitects

Solicitors Sheffield – local news from Sheffield solicitors
@SheffieldLawyer

IT works marketing – SEO copywriting, PR, email and social media campaigns
@itwrksmarketing

Accident repair – body repair shop
@sheffieldrepair

Sheffield social – social events
@SheffieldSocial

Sheffield libraries, archives and information
@shefflibraries

Zenon – band
@zenonband

Paul Huxley – scriptwriter and part of Medlo
@huxathon

Scott Douglas group – business development and marketing
@scottdouglasgrp

4N Sheffield – business networking
@4NSheffield

Restaurant marketing advice
@restconnect

Sylvesters bar in Leopold square
@SylvestersBarS1

Mr Martin – singer-songwriter and one quarter of Dead world leaders
@mrmartinmusic

Point blank theatre – the new owners of the Riverside – developing a multi-purpose arts/events space
@P0INTBLANK

John Coefield – photographer
@johncoefield

Morgan dias – immigration consultants
@morgandias

David Morris – posts scores from Sheffield Scimitars games
@brassedoff

Joe Taylor – Liberal democrat councillor for Hillsborough
@JoeTaylorLD

Toni and Guy Sheffield – hairdresser
@TONIandGUYSheff

ukpipelines.com – pipeline and drainage tools and equipment
@ukpipelines

Robert Saull – musician from the Purgatory players
@robertgsaull

Richard Hennessy – hypnotherapist
@focusedhypnosis

If you want to be listed on it then follow @sheffieldblog, get in touch or comment below.

Views from the seven hills of Sheffield and more are celebrated by the new Sheffield publicity department blog that promises to tell us about the things that make the place special:

We’re here to tell you about…the things that make Sheffield beautiful, and amazing, and unique. The hills, the people, the industry and the nature. The reasons we love the city. And what’s more, we’re going to show you how to find them. Maps to the best views. Guides to the most beautiful terraced streets. Postcards of the sunsets.

The view from Skye edge (‘as close as you’ll get to flying over Sheffield’) is first entry in the blog, where a red flag has been installed on the summit. I wonder if they’d get away with some guerrilla-style red plaques in the more urban locations?

They also provide printable maps so you know exactly where to find the free treasures.

I love this idea and look forward to seeing what things they come up with.

Sheffield publicity department