The Durham Necklace Park is a public-access enabled community project that focuses on helping local people and landowners to work together to find solutions that suit both sides. Mapping the Necklace is part of Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007), a year of community projects, events and exhibitions in North East England that explore what life in a sustainable region could be like and how design can help achieve that. The design challenge that has been tackled in the park by Mapping the Necklace has been to find new ways to map everything from angling and wild bird sites, wind and light, to places to be alone and places to be together
The Durham Necklace Park runs from Finchale Priory to Croxdale (passing through Durham city centre). It is connected to 12 miles of riverside, much of which is currently ‘unmapped’. The park has been created as part of the Durham 2020 Vision project, which is a local partnership, working with the people of Durham to shape the city centre over the next 14 years.
On May 5-7 a wide range of ‘mappers’ will be coming to the Durham Necklace Park to explore, create, record and share their journeys in a culmination and celebration of four months of mapping activities. Mapping the Necklace organisers have also invited the general public to turn up to see for themselves how the Necklace Park is taking shape through the details revealed by the mappers.
A partnership between regional development agency One NorthEast and the Design Council, Dott 07 enables communities and individuals in the region to collaborate with designers in realistic situations. Dott 07 forms part of North East England’s world class programme of events and festivals for 2007.
Susan Williamson, project leader of Mapping the Necklace, said: “The response we have had to Mapping the Necklace has been terrific and has revealed a wide streak of adventure and creativity throughout North East England and beyond. The Dott 07 projects really are creating a buzz in the region, and it is great that the Durham Necklace Park is starting to generate the interest it deserves. This weekend will also be a great chance for individuals and families to come and explore the Necklace Park as it is being revealed by our mapping teams. We will have special short mapping plans for everyone who turns up!“
There are over 20 separate groups or individuals creating their own maps of the Necklace Park, online and on the ground. These will ultimately provide some really varied interpretations of the park and also real information for visitors on access, points of interest, landmarks and things to do.
Maps that are being developed cover a wide range of interests:
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Readers of the Lost Art – comic book enthusiasts, Readers of the Lost Art, will be mapping stories associated with the area, teasing out tales to create their own comic.
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Audio mapping – Durham’s Society for the Blind and Partially Sighted are Mapping the Necklace as an audio soundtrack, ambient sounds and verbal cues will act as waymarkers along the riverside.
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Access – two wheelchair users will be testing out the park’s accessibility
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Bird Box Boys – the award winning architects DMSR, known locally for spectacular birdboxes, are returning to Durham to map the even more spectacular Belmont Viaduct. With a local school they will look at how maps can help make the viaduct visible, accessible and reveal the site to the public
- Play Mappers – Water, trees, open spaces, fallen logs, sand and mud... meadows, fallen leaves and old bridges; the play mappers will be mapping a playground with a difference. They’re asking parents and kids to share ideas of favourite places and best games to play in the Park.
- Disorienteering – What to a passerby are just swings in a playground might be the place someone had their first kiss, or an old house on the edge of town might be the first place someone would think to hide if they were in trouble with the law... A new perspective can disorient you in even the most familiar of places. This team will ask residents to reflect on aspects of their lives in The Necklace Park through a series of activities, and help us map unexpected interpretations of everyday places.
Over the course of the weekend mapping forays and findings will be projected (where possible, live) inside and out at the Clayport Library in Durham city-centre Millennium Place. The Library will be open on all three days of the weekend as Mapping Central, where all teams will check in and out and where first-time park visitors can obtain more information about the Necklace Park along with short mapping kits. The adjacent Tourism Information Centre will also be showing the projections and can help direct visitors to other point of interest in the Necklace Park.
The Clayport Library will also be leading a hi-tech mapping exercise, as part of the Mapping the Necklace weekend. Teams of volunteers will be heading out into the Necklace Park with some to the most up to date tracking equipment available. The equipment is so accurate that it can pinpoint positions down to seconds in time and metres in space, and is being provided by Durham University's School of Engineering and the electronics company Qinetiq. Professor Alan Purvis from the School of Engineering, who has developed the equipment and tested it around the globe, is providing it free of charge to the Mapping teams.
Professor Purvis said: "This is a glimpse into the future. We all know of in-car navigation systems that tell the driver where he is but these are trackers that can tell everyone else in the world with the right password where it is as well, very useful for lost keys, children’s safety and valuable goods."
Claire Lancaster, Necklace Park Manager, said: “The Durham Necklace Park is a beautiful place. I hope that there is a great turnout over the weekend so that as many people as possible can start to appreciate what a fantastic, unique park they have on their doorstep. The mapping exercises – through the creativity of so many people in our region - will help us to develop the Necklace Park into a compelling place to live and explore for local people and visitors from far and wide.”
Stella Hall, creative director at NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said: “Imaginative events like Mapping the Necklace build on the region’s already established reputation for culture and creativity, providing a great experience for visitors and local people alike.”
To find out more about the event, call 07747 486720, email info@mapping-the-necklace.org.uk or go to www.mapping-the-necklace.org.uk
For press enquiries contact Saskia Sissons on 020 7420 5248, or email saskia.sissions@designcouncil.org.uk