We’ll be launching Gathering Place on 6th and 7th July. Then we’ll dive into the specific issues and challenges of creating a new public area in the Castle and Eye of York. We’ll do that through five themes, each with a fortnight to chew over the issue. Each event will be documented and key issues drawn out at the end of each fortnight to feed into the Gathering Place Open Brief.
Fortnight 1: Gathering Green
6th July – 19th July
How can green of all kinds be used to create a human-scale environment, define spaces, balance shade and shelter with ease of maintenance while also protecting views and openness?
Gathering Green: Look at Your City walk
Saturday 13th July 2-4pm
Meet near the ex-fountain on Parliament Street
Book your place
We’ll take a look at how green of all kinds is already used in York. We’ll start in Parliament Street and end in Museum Gardens and take in a number of those examples of plants, trees and grass to talk openness and enclosure, shade, shelter, maintenance and views. We’ll then draw out what questions this raised for the open brief for the new public area in the Castle and Eye of York.
Fortnight 2: Gathering with Water
20th July – 2nd August
How can water in various forms be welcomed in the design of the new public area in the Castle and Eye of York? Whether that is dealing with flooding, encouraging use of the Foss, referencing past moats and river defences or adding in playful fountains and pools?
Gathering with Water: Look at Your City walk
Thursday 25th July 5:30 – 7:30pm
Meet outside York Art Gallery
Book your free place
How can water in various forms be welcomed in the design of the new public area in the Castle and Eye of York? Whether that is dealing with flooding, encouraging use of the Foss, referencing past moats and river defences or adding in playful fountains and pools. Join us for a walk around the city, noting how water already works and generating ideas for how water flow (or otherwise) for the open brief for the new public area in the Castle and Eye of York.
Fortnight 3: Gathering Together
3rd August – 16th August
The idea that the Castle and Eye of York should be a place that brings people together was a key theme from the first phase of My Castle Gateway discussion. In this fortnight we’ll explore what activities might bring people together and how can they be designed for in the new public space, whether that is a family picnic, a political march or something like the Rose Theatre.
Gathering Together: Look at Your City walk
Friday 9th August 6:00-8:00pm
Meet outside York Art Gallery
Book your place
Early evening is a potentially good time to bring people together – and one York doesn’t do brilliantly at the moment. In the My Castle Gateway discussions the idea of a family friendly area, with activities and events, not dominated by heavy drinking was a recurring theme. In this walk we’ll check out the early evening action and draw out ideas for the open brief for the new public area in the Castle and Eye of York.
Fortnight 4: Gathering Playfully
17th August – 30th August
This Gathering Places fortnight we take a focus on children and families but also look at play for all ages. Building on the summer Playing Out sessions across the city, we’ll explore what can make a place with history a special place to play.
Gathering Playfully: Look at Your City walk
Sunday 25th August, 10am – 12pm
Meet at Rowntrees Park, near the swings
Register interest
We’ll conclude a summer-worth of Playing Out sessions at Rowntrees Park. What makes it so popular and makes it a play destination? What can we learn from how families play together – and how the different spaces and activities work together – to add into the open brief for the new public area in the Castle and Eye of York.
Fortnight 5: Gathering on the Move
31st August – 13th September
How can we make a place which people find easy to ‘read’? We’ll be thinking about routes to and through the area, views along the way, signposting, places to stop and rest, how to reconcile cycling and people on foot and how to imbed accessibility and inclusiveness as a first principle.
Gathering on the Move: Look at Your City Walk
Saturday 7th September 2:30 – 4:30pm
Book your place
Meet outside York Railway Station, specifically outside the York Tap on Tea Room Square
How can we make a place which people find easy to “read”? Join us on our final Look at Your City walk. We’ll be thinking about routes to and through the area, views along the way, signposting, places to stop and rest, how to reconcile cycling and people on foot and how to imbed accessibility and inclusiveness as a first principle.