The yellow canary of the mines, a symbol of protection for miners spending time in highly polluted areas. The yellow lichen becomes the new symbol for Dudley, protecting inhabitants through carbon sequestration & clean air.
PRODUCTIVE LANDSCAPE
To create a safe family friendly pedestrianised space on Dudley's high street. By changing up the landscape and introducing micro ecosystem on the high street we aim to improve the health and well-being for the planet as well as the people of Dudley.
A day out in Dudley
Time inside passes slow,
So we went out for the day,
My favourite place to go,
The high street in Dudley
I'm sure that you'd agree
It's not like any other town,
There is lots to do and see
And there's space to run around
There's a playground there
Just in the middle of the street
And fruit growing everywhere
The strawberries taste so sweet
There's lots of places for grown-ups
Where they like to chat and sit
They say 'hello ya right bab?'
And then Tarra a bit.
There is no need to in
When it's black over bill's mother
Because should the rain begin
The canopy is the perfect cover
The grown-ups pick the veggies
And call come get some grub
We jump down from our climbing trees
And head over to the food hub
We get the buz back home for tea
And get it down our wazzin
I look back on the day with glee
My Dudley town is bostin.
The meaning behind this gift is composed of three main foundations which are biodiversity, social and enclosure. The box represents the enclosed feeling of the surrounding buildings that you receive when walking down Dudley High Street. The ‘High Street’ gives the impression that the buildings are closing in on you, with very little open space around. The open element of the box is to create an airy space which is what Co-LAB Dudley is trying to achieve and make the atmosphere more sociable for the local people/ community. Therefore, attracting more people to the high street. Conducting research it is evident that the ‘High Street’ severely suffers from a lack of green space resulting in a lack of biodiversity across Dudley. Centrally, located within the box is a rose which resembles the biodiversity and the need for growth amongst the ‘High Street’. The white rose connotes the purity for the future of Dudley High Street and what it could become.
The first step is sectioning out for pedestrianisation. It was important that we did this so we can move down the intervention scale to the next stepping stone; laying the foundation for social and ecological benefits. The hierarchy of space is very much dedicated to cars right now. If you design for cars, you’re going to get more cars. If you design for people, you’re going to get more people. According to Just Economics, the footfall can increase by about 40% following pedestrianisation, and retail follows suit with about 30% increase in sales.