2022 Cat A - Beacon
Newark-on-Trent is a historic market town that lies along the great River Trent. The town grew around the fortified grounds of Newark Castle and played significant roles in trade and in the English Civil Wars. With increasing pressures from urbanisation (e.g. canalisation, deforestation) and climate change (e.g. flood, erosion), the park now faces threats that extinguish the vigour that Newark once had and its connections with the wider landscape. This design of the new Riverside Park boldly welcomes change in our environment to re-ignite the sterile site and reconnect people with the landscape and its history, creating a novel civic space that beckons all.
Aims:
1. The town of Newark will serve as a beacon for the rest of the country, as a distinctive place and as a leader in its approach to landscape.
2. The new design will highlight and connect existing culturally and historically significant beacons around the site to create a cohesive identity for Newark.
3. The processes of the landscape will act as warning beacons of the threats of climate change, situating people near the present realities of our changing climate.
Dynamism is a key element in this project and helps to embrace environmental changes. Instead of safeguarding forests as we know it, the Craft Forest introduces risks that promote long-term use. Instead of building up against floods, the Events Square builds down into the river to encourage flooding to animate the landscape. Such resilience comes from taking bold steps that turn threats into beautiful realities.
