Durham, UK - Office
Aykley Heads is a 15ha strategic employment site on the edge of Durham city centre. Ryder was appointed to develop a masterplan for the future regeneration of Aykley Heads following Durham County Council’s move to new premises.
The vision for Aykley Heads is to maximise economic growth in County Durham, including creating an estimated 4,000 new jobs over twenty years.
The masterplan sets parameters such as routes, plots, scale, and landscape, whilst remaining flexible to respond to market demand. The site provides a modern business location, comprising 38,500sqm of office accommodation, in a mature parkland setting within walking distance of the city centre and transport links.
We began with undertaking a place audit using our Placemaking Toolkit to ensure all relevant elements within the site and in its wider context, including heritage, land uses, scale, connectivity, landscape and character areas, were mapped and layered to inform the design.
We also carried out a precedent study considering the historic precedent of manor houses set in grounds, Durham University’s colleges, and pavilion buildings to help inform the development’s character. This manifested in campus settlements and landscaping to build the sense of arrival, and glimpsed views between breaks in planting and tree canopies.
The development is set within an attractive parkland and woodland setting, with green and blue corridors, connected via an improved network of walking and cycling routes connecting to Durham railway station, bus stops and the Park & Ride, to facilitate active travel and reduce car use.
Placemaking principles are at the heart of the masterplan, creating a place where people not only go to work, but want to visit. For example, the central heart space at the intersection of key pedestrian routes provides a gathering space, animated by building frontages and activities spilling into the heart, for people to stop and enjoy the facilities.
The flexibility of our masterplan allows the area to respond to new investment and initiatives for Durham Innovation District, an extension of the city centre north to Aykley Heads.
We produced a design guide to ensure integrity and cohesion in future developments should different designers be involved at different stages. For example, appropriate materials and tones are set out to respond to character areas and seasonally changing parklands.
Considering the site’s sensitivity located within the Durham World Heritage Site, greenbelt, nature reserve and registered battlefield, we carried out heritage and landscape visual impact assessments as well as an environmental impact assessment. A collaborative process with the client and stakeholders through design sprints, workshops and a design review panel with Design North East ensured the masterplan successfully integrates with planning policy considerations.
Ryder led the design team, coordinating input from landscape, transport, drainage, ground conditions, noise, air quality and cost consultants to produce a phased, deliverable masterplan. We also led the production of supporting documentation for the planning application, including the design and access statement and heritage statement, and input to the environmental impact assessment.
