Newmarket Equine Design Project

Newmarket Equine Design Project
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
The Newmarket Equine Design Project is a pubic art initiative of the Newmarket Retailers Association.
The Newmarket Retailers Association commissioned Ubiety Landscape + Urban Design to prepare this document to
illustrate the concept for public art as devised by Richard Goss, a member of the Newmarket Retailers Association.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Base Plan data provided by Forest Heath District Council
Equine photographs used as base material in photomontages supplied by T Jones
Advice on the concept provided by Richard Goss and Julie Eden
Video sound provided by freeSFX.co.uk
September 2014
Contents
1.0
2.0
Background
The Concept
ILLUSTRATIONS
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
The Project Area
Key Elements: Plan
Key Elements: 3-D Perspective
Key Elements: Starting Gate
Key Elements: Mid Course
Key Elements: Finish Line Wide View
Key Elements: Finish Line Close View
Mid Course: Interpretation A
Mid Course: Interpretation B
Mid Course: Interpretation C
Link to video of Mid Course Interpretation:
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uUc5DseiCQ
1.0
Background
Prince’s Foundation Enquiry by Design Workshop
Vision-building ‘Workshops‘ for the future of Newmarket were organised by the Prince’s Foundation in 2013.
Outputs were reported as a series of Vision Statements, Action Plans and Recommendations.
The following are extracts from this report:
Vision Statements
“In twenty year’s time, Newmarket will be a popular visitor
and tourist destination by using its unique position as the
home of horse racing. Through strong branding and
marketing Newmarket will be recognised as part of the
Suffolk Tourism offer and positioned as the Gateway to the
East of England.”
“In twenty year’s time, Newmarket will have a successful
and attractive High Street…”
Newmarket Town Centre should be the heart of the
community, the primary destination for shopping and leisure,
a magnet for tourists and a place of civic pride. Cumulatively
these attributes would see people lengthen their stay in
Newmarket and spend more money.
The vision for a “successful and vibrant town centre” will
help avoid any decline and failure to accomplish many
longer-term aspirations. For instance, a failing town
centre will discourage business interest and inward
investment, and derail attempts to maximise the area’s
tourism potential. In summary, the financial vision
statements will be unattainable without a significant
step-change in the quality of the town centre’s retail
offer and built environment.

The removal of some on-street parking provision
(from 45 to approximately 22) in the prime
shopping area (running from Sun Lane/Wellington
Street to the Clock Tower) coupled with sidewalk
widening could beautify the streetscape, heighten
pedestrian safety, ease movement across the High
Street and improve the retail environment for
shoppers and businesses.
A Key Recommendation of the Workshop was that 4 ‘Delivery Groups’ be established to bring the vision statements to reality
through Action Plans.
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
2.0
The Concept
The Richard Goss Concept is to use Newmarket’s unique selling point as the home of horse
racing to bring a strength of identity or ‘brand’ to the commercial centre of the town that is the
High Street.
Horse racing brings many visitors to the town however the visual connection in the High Street
to horse racing is weak or absent. It is proposed to address this by making the link between
the linearity of the High Street that of a race course and to introduce three, high-quality, public
art installations of horses and riders at different stages of the course. Adjacent the clock tower,
at the eastern end of the High Street, there would be a sculptural installation of full-size race
horses leaving the starting gates. At mid course, race horses would again be seen at full gallop.
The finish line would be adjacent the Post Office at the western end of the High Street where
one or more racehorses would be shown crossing the line. All three installations would be
linked by a series of furlong posts marking the course. The furlong posts themselves could also
present an opportunity for artistic interpretation and/or commemorative or informative detail.
In addition, existing parking bays on the southern side of the High Street would be removed
and the pavement widened. This would allow space for the installations and improve the
pedestrian amenity for visitors / shoppers.
NOTE
The illustrations shown in this document are provided for the purpose of explaining the concept
in outline only. Figurative bronze sculptures appear in the images however this is only in order
to indicate the anticipated scale and location of the installations. The actual form of the
sculptural works and the materials used would be the subject of a competition and the
parameters for such a competition have not yet been set. A model of an ‘interpretation’ of
race horses has also been provided to provide some indication of the range of possibilities
envisaged.
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
Clock Tower
National Horse Racing Museum
0
50m
100m
PROJECT AREA
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
Starting Gate
1
horses setting off
Mid-Course
horses galloping
2
‘Furlong Posts’
marking the course
Finish Line
horses finishing
Footpath widened
parking bays removed
3
0
50m
100m
KEY ELEMENTS: PLAN
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
race horses
CLOCK TOWER
furlong posts
on-street parking bays removed
KEY ELEMENTS: 3-D PERSPECTIVE
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
KEY ELEMENTS: STARTING GATE
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
KEY ELEMENTS: MID-COURSE
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
FINISH LINE: WIDE VIEW
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
FINISH LINE: CLOSE VIEW
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
MID COURSE ‘INTERPRETATION’ A
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
MID COURSE ‘INTERPRETATION’ B
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT
MID COURSE ‘INTERPRETATION’ C
NEWMARKET EQUINE DESIGN PROJECT