.COMfort Sq

The square is the re-use of an existing slip road adjacent to a busy local shopping street in Stroud Green.

The local community initiated this project through the internet, which identifies how the virtual world transmutes the physical. As a consequence two public consultation events and a website launch were held on the site. One event involved landscape design students whilst another, during architecture week, involved environmental students. The community events and feedback identofied diverse uses required of the space and established the site as an experimental urban test bed zone.

The proposal aims to enhance the use of the neglected space and reduce negative qualities. Environmental analysis of temperature and wind patterns indicate where the wind baffles could reduce cold and humidity in winter. As a result .COMfort Square is tailored to create various microclimate pockets, thus enabling the Square to meet the diverse thermal comfort needs of a large majority.

Consultation within the virtual realm is ongoing therefore it is expressed physically with wireless internet and IT access points on .COMfort Square. The summer and winter consulations highlighted comfort issues during extreme seasons, therefore the canopy provides environmnetal stability for future events; in the winter the canopy briefly traps heat close to the users, glare is reduced in summer and it shields from rain year-round.

In responding to diverse community needs and providing a finely tuned external environment .COMfort Square is clearly an Urban Space by Design project and a much needed community square for all seasons.