When you think of Sheffield, what first springs to mind?
Richard Hawley? Arctic Monkeys? Pulp?
How about that bloomin’ great building that overlooks the city? When you enter Sheffield via the Parkway, one of the first things to greet you is Park Hill. Whether you arrive by bus, tram, car or train, it’s right there, towering over you.
As much as I love Sheffield, I’ve driven past that eyesore over the last 25 years, and never liked it one bit. If you’re not familiar with Park Hill, then I suggest you watch this cracking short video from the BBC to set the scene.
Watched it? Okay, on we go…
So I decided as part of my Saturday that I should finally go and have a look around the ongoing regeneration project by Urban Splash at the Grade 2 listed building. I went armed with my boyfriend and we put on our best “potential house/flat buyer” heads so as not to be busted for the nosey parkers we were.
The closest I’d ever gotten to Park Hill before was on an A level geography field trip with 15 other kids and our teacher Mrs Coggins. We sat outside in the school minibus with the windows wound up, the doors locked and the engine running for a quick getaway, whilst we discussed the history of the building and how horrible it must be to live there.
Almost 9 years later, I walked towards the flats via the train station to make our 1pm appointment feeling less like I needed an emergency escape route out of there. Just one thing caught our attention as we climbed the hill:
“Park Hill is yuppieville”
A priceless piece of graffiti that highlights the division between the old and soon to be new occupiers of Park Hill.
With roughly 100 people still living in the flats, I began to wonder just how this project was going to successfully merge the yuppies and the current occupiers. Is the dream of improving the area already shattered by the buildings lingering past? Only one block will be ready by November 2012, and the rest over the coming years. The projections of the finished site look fantastic – contemporary flats, bars, restuarants, galleries, shops – but it’s whether or not this vision can become a reality and a positive community can grow around it.
Anyway, we approached the sales office and were greeted by two lovely ladies who showed us around 3 different flats, and I can honestly tell you that I was surprised by what I saw.
It was bloody fantastic.
The layout. The balcony. The crazy doors that hide in walls….no, really they do! The under floor heating. The two levels. The VIEW. The floor to ceiling windows. The exposed concrete walls. The VIEW.
Hats off to the designers. I am well and truly sold. I’d never before looked at this building as anything more than a conrete prison. An architectural marvel it truly is.
Whilst I couldn’t imagine living there with a family, I sure as hell could picture myself with a glass of wine on that balcony looking out over Sheffield for the next few years.
I’m glad that our curiosity led me to book a viewing, and see what a truly great place Park Hill was and can be again. By the time we left, we’d already started planning on what wallpaper we’d want in the bedroom and how much stuff I’d need to eBay to fit in our perfect city apartment.
What are your thoughts on the development?
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Category: Architecture, Places
I want one too.
Good blog Sarah – I reckon Mrs Coggins will be proud!
As someone who grew up in the tower block opposite (Claywood, now demolished) I can testify that Park Hill was as rough as a dogs arse, but equally a few really liked the place (more often than not people that knew the place from way back, when it was new and shinny),
The flats themselves were always fantastic spaces though, duplex, quirky and extremely spacious – i imagine that they have been divided up far more than they were.
I do hope its a success, the area needs that space to be functional, at present its dead, soulless and as such has repercussions throughout the community.
Thanks for your comment Andy. You should definitely take the time to go over for a viewing. Even if it’s just for a nosey like I did!
I never knew the flats in their glory days, but watching the BBC video highlights just how great it was. It will be interesting to see if the community spirit returns once people start moving in. The project has so much potential, I really hope people get on board to make it a success.