Document: Kevin Hong

This design research investigates streets as places and spaces. Initial interests introduce the street as a malleable, diverse construct that can be approached through many scales. The research looks on three precedent studies involving the design of the street - John Nash’s Regent Street, Bankside Street Improvements by EAST architects and Allison and Peter Smithson’s London Road Plan. Investigation also looks at how current highway and traffic engineers design roads; specifically the system of hierarchy and classification that is used in designing road networks. Traffic engineer's singular view of streets is to provide safe and efficient traffic flow, the investigation will go into the limitations of this view through its lack of flexibility and prescriptive approach that does not reflect the complexity of the street. As a case study, a design strategy is proposed for Harrow Manor Way in Thamesmead. As Thamesmead is a manifestation of the planning approaches of the second half of the 20th Century, the road network is a good example of potential reconditioning of the spatial qualities that it offers.