The Old Market Square is an open, pedestrianized city square in Nottingham. The Square is in the centre of the city and covers an area of approximately 22,000 m². Located in the heart of Nottingham City Centre, the square covers till Beast Market Hill to the West, Smithy Row to the North, and South Parade to the South. The Eastern end of the square is mainly covered by the Council House, which serves as Nottingham's city hall. Due to the landscape of the Old Market square, there are local events, fairs, concerts and exhibitions which take often take place there.
Gustafson Porter in 2004 redesigned Old Market Square and completed in March 2007, the Square is built with three shades of granite. White, beige and dark grey granite was used for the flowerbeds, fountains and terraces. With the central open space using a light coloured granite. The new square is a single level area, which includes an ancient border which is a recreation of the border which divided, Nottingham in two sides with the Normans on one side and the Saxons on the other. On the west side of the square there is a water feature which includes jet fountains and waterfalls.
The Fountain is one of the biggest attractions in the square especially during the summer with people preferring to sit next to or around the fountain. Also little kids are attracted to the fountain with them playing in the fountain.
Another attraction site in the square is the two large stone lions which guard the Council House steps. They have also become a popular symbol of the city, with the City Council recently embracing the lion on some of its recent 'Nottingham Proud' campaign posters. The locals often use the 'Left Lion' as a meeting place.
The lions are a wonderful example of the fine quality of art that is in Nottingham. The lions are a joy to all to see and go perfectly well with the area they are situated in.
There is a lot of pedestrian traffic in Old Market Square due to the tram/ bus stops next to it and all the shops in the area. The square has been strategically been designed that the flow of pedestrian traffic is always smooth. I think that the Old market square is designed well and is successful in its purpose with the area always being very lively and busy.
Gustafson Porter in 2004 redesigned Old Market Square and completed in March 2007, the Square is built with three shades of granite. White, beige and dark grey granite was used for the flowerbeds, fountains and terraces. With the central open space using a light coloured granite. The new square is a single level area, which includes an ancient border which is a recreation of the border which divided, Nottingham in two sides with the Normans on one side and the Saxons on the other. On the west side of the square there is a water feature which includes jet fountains and waterfalls.
The Fountain is one of the biggest attractions in the square especially during the summer with people preferring to sit next to or around the fountain. Also little kids are attracted to the fountain with them playing in the fountain.
Another attraction site in the square is the two large stone lions which guard the Council House steps. They have also become a popular symbol of the city, with the City Council recently embracing the lion on some of its recent 'Nottingham Proud' campaign posters. The locals often use the 'Left Lion' as a meeting place.
The lions are a wonderful example of the fine quality of art that is in Nottingham. The lions are a joy to all to see and go perfectly well with the area they are situated in.
There is a lot of pedestrian traffic in Old Market Square due to the tram/ bus stops next to it and all the shops in the area. The square has been strategically been designed that the flow of pedestrian traffic is always smooth. I think that the Old market square is designed well and is successful in its purpose with the area always being very lively and busy.
The Lace Market borders Hockley, and together the areas now accommodate a variety of fashionable bars, restaurants and shops. The lace market area is known for its huge commercial buildings and cobbled stone roads. The Lace Market has gone through a rebirth in recent years. With most of the old warehouses that were in a bad condition during the recession years have been cleaned and renovated and have found new uses. Architecturally, the area has great historic/ contemporary buildings like most of Nottingham, but the most famous buildings in the Lace Market area are that of the St. Mary’s church which was built in 1474 and the Nottingham Contemporary gallery which was built in 2009. The two buildings are neighbours to one another, with each building varying in style with the other. Lace Market also has a square which was a recent trial in making a social outdoor space in the area to strengthen the liveliness in the area. Unfortunately the area is very isolated and is not visited that much due to the location of the square being hidden.I feel that the idea of the square is a brilliant idea but the location of it plays a key reason to why it will be hard for people to visit it. The main visitors of the area are the local college students who normally use it during their break and lunch times. If there were some signs and some sort of advertising for the square it could be very popular due to how populated Lace Market is. The square is visually very pleasing to look at has many features which add to its beauty such as the flooring, tress and unique looking metal trees. There are also benches which help attract people to come and relax in the area.
Hockley is an area near the heart of Nottingham, England. Hockley is located next to the Lace Market. The area has many restaurant, fashionable clothing shops and a number of bars, which make this area very lively. To add to the liveliness there are a number of fine pieces of architecture in the area. Hockley is home to design, fashion, New Age and record shops, and galleries, bars and cafés. It also boasts two art-house cinemas. Which are the Broadway Cinema and the Screen Room, which is one of the smallest cinemas which just has21 seats.
I do feel that Hockley is successful in achieving its purpose. It is an area which target audience is of all ages as the area has shops and restaurants that suit any age group. There is a large variety of shops and restaurants which make the area have a large multicultural population. The area actually has everything on can think of to have an exciting and entertaining day out. Such as going shopping in the morning, then having some lunch form a cosy café. After that one could go to a movie at one of the cinema’s which always have fantastic shows playing on screen, then having a delicious dinner from one of the fine restaurants in the area.
The area has many roads which pass through it, but thankfully there is hardly any road traffic which can be a disturbance for some shoppers/customers. The area has some fine pieces of architecture which sit well with the area and give the area a historic look. The flow of pedestrians in the area varies according to the time and day that it is. As some days the area feels very quiet and isolated with all the shops closed and just a few people on the road. To other days that have a large amount of human traffic on the roads with everyone being jolly and having colourful clothes on making the area feel electric.
I do feel that Hockley is successful in achieving its purpose. It is an area which target audience is of all ages as the area has shops and restaurants that suit any age group. There is a large variety of shops and restaurants which make the area have a large multicultural population. The area actually has everything on can think of to have an exciting and entertaining day out. Such as going shopping in the morning, then having some lunch form a cosy café. After that one could go to a movie at one of the cinema’s which always have fantastic shows playing on screen, then having a delicious dinner from one of the fine restaurants in the area.
The area has many roads which pass through it, but thankfully there is hardly any road traffic which can be a disturbance for some shoppers/customers. The area has some fine pieces of architecture which sit well with the area and give the area a historic look. The flow of pedestrians in the area varies according to the time and day that it is. As some days the area feels very quiet and isolated with all the shops closed and just a few people on the road. To other days that have a large amount of human traffic on the roads with everyone being jolly and having colourful clothes on making the area feel electric.
References:
- [map accessed online at]: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Old+Market+Square/@52.953141,-1.1514422,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x4879c22a935deccf:0xa0b3648c1d6238bf
- [map accessed online at]:https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Hockley/@52.9537097,-1.1407841,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x4879c3d631848747:0xaca1ca424e0ec6d3
- [image accessed online at]: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=food+lion+market+square&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xpZoU_7oOcWGOPiJgaAI&ved=0CAsQ_AUoBA&biw=1517&bih=693&dpr=0.9#q=nottingham+left+lion&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=YELz5JArhaSHKM%253A%3BKB4gHf9jYk6ULM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.coolplaces.co.uk%252Fsystem%252Fimages%252F11339%252Fold-market-square-left-lion-see-do-outdoor-activities-sports-large.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.coolplaces.co.uk%252Fplaces%252Fuk%252Fengland%252Fnottinghamshire%252Fnottingham%252F8974-old-market-square-left-lion%3B1000%3B747
- [image accessed online at]:http://rusted-faith.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/2166741856_3ea372ac61_z.jpg
- [image accessed online at]:http://www.fastfind.info/photos/revolution_hockley_phpptreto_big.jpg
- [image accessed online at]:http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/04/8f/a8/ed/cafe-bar-nottingham.jpg
- [image accessed online at]: https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3053/2755026896_d4a442e5ed.jpg
- [All the hand drawn images are by the author]