Since 2014, Live Works has been coordinating numerous projects exploring the future of Castlegate, a run-down area of the city centre which is the historic birthplace of the city. As part of this year's Festival of the Mind, Carolyn Butterworth, Live Works Director and Senior University Teacher, took part in a panel where she discussed how Sheffield School of Architecture has been contributing to the development of the Castle site over the last 6 years and how we need collectively to have a clear ambition to build a sustainable and healthy urban environment in the area.
You can watch the full event here:
The Festival of the Mind event "Excavating the Past, Building the Future" was a chance to celebrate all the work done over the last six years by SSoA staff, students and graduates in Castlegate. Our research and design ideas have played a key role in shaping a collective ambition to develop the Castle site as an inclusive, healthy and sustainable city neighbourhood that works creatively with its heritage. We are continuing this work by representing the University on Sheffield City Council's Castlegate Partnership. We are also continuing to work with our colleagues in Archaeology and Computer Science on the development of augmented reality techniques to engage local people in the past and possible futures for the site.
Carolyn Butterworth
Live Works Director and Senior University Teacher, Sheffield School of Architecture
The event also launched Prof. John Moreland's book about the excavations of Sheffield Castle and a new short film about ‘Sheffield Castle: Excavating the Past; Building the Future’, both which contain contributions from Carolyn about how the history of sites can be used as a catalyst for future regeneration.
Live Works is part of the Castlegate Partnership, a collaboration between Sheffield City Council, the University, local community groups (inc. Friends of Sheffield Castle and Harmony Works) and independent local businesses that advocates for a high-quality, sustainable, community-led regeneration of the Castle site that celebrates the rich heritage of the area. The design ideas and research done by SSoA students and Live Works over the last 6 years, have been and continue to be instrumental in raising aspirations for the development of the site.