Hobson's Square, a significant new public space for Cambridge

Clay Paver Awards: Gold in the category ‘Public Space’

Hobson’s Square is the civic heart of the new Great Kneighton development in Cambridge and a significant new public space for the city. Countryside Properties was the client for the housing development and PLACE was its lead landscape architect. PLACE’s design concept is based on Bronze Age field boundaries found on the site; one boundary runs diagonally through the new square and is used to mark a dynamic transition between the flexible plaza space on one side and quieter rain garden areas on the other.

A variety of activities, from the everyday to seasonal and festive events, are accommodated here, creating opportunities for community and personal interaction among the square’s residents, designed to engender a community spirit. There is also a car park on the north side of the community centre for all residents and visitors to use.

At the heart of the square is a 25-ton timber sculpture, the Bronze House, designed by Studio Morison and fabricated by Castle Ring Oak Frame. Hand scorched and rubbed down with wire brushes to produce its final finish, the sculpture is made from misshapen chestnut wood. Sitting at the centre of the site the sculpture design takes its inspiration and reference the Bronze Age field boundaries.

The paving, a unique blend of colours in three sizes
The design incorporating a unique blend of colours from Vande Moortel's Ancienne Belgique, SeptimA and DecimA range of clay pavers specified by Place Design+Planning. Vande Moortel's unrivalled selection of colour, size and textures offers no limits as to what can be achieved from their extensive range of clay paving.

This comprehensive choice allowed Place Design+Planning to provide a unique blend of colours and mix proportions to run throughout the project, whilst the 3 different size formats and bond patterns offered subtle differentiation for varying traffic loadings and usage.

Ecological touch
Hobson’s Square is split almost 50:50 with soft and hard landscaping. The space is cut diagonally through the centre of an old bronze age field boundary line. The line is defined with a bespoke drainage channel which collects the surface water runoff from the active predominately hard landscaped space to the east. This square gently falls to the west with all runoff collected by the channel. The water flows from the north towards the south through outlets into the soft landscaped areas immediately to the west of the channel. All the soft areas are designed to be rain gardens.

These areas are planted with a variety of species which can accommodate fluctuations in volumes of water and dry periods. The types of planting range from pioneer tree species to shrubs, perennial flowering plants and grasses with the addition of wildflowers. A large range of plant species help encourage a large variety of wildlife into this semi-urban environment.

The western part of the square becomes more shaded and darker in the evenings providing a link from Hobson’s Brook water corridor running along the south of the square. This existing green wedge running through the area provides good foraging routes for a variety of animals including bats which can use the tree planting in the square for additional cover and habitat.

The rest of the square and car park to the north of the Community Centre is lined with avenue trees which are progressively establishing each year forming additional higher-level habitat routes for birds and insects in the wider development.