Doncaster Civic Trust

Visit To Sheffield For Hayfield School Students Doncaster Now Studying GCSE Architecture. Wednesday 15th June 2025

After signing in at the school office, identity photos taken and lanyards handed out, Doncaster Civic Trust executive committee members Rachel Glazzard and Tina Anderson boarded the mini bus at Hayfield School along with 15 Hayfield School GCSE Architecture students and their teacher Paul Plunkett to visit Sheffield to study some of the city’s architectural buildings and walk along the innovative groundbreaking environmental and economic development devised by Sheffield City Council From Grey To Green.

Leo Care and Rosie Dodgson, tutors from the School of Architecture at the University, joined us at the 1960’s Park Hill Flats now a grade 2 listed building being regenerated by Urban Splash and architects Mikhail Riches. Unfortunately, we were unable to access the building as we did last year but the general viewing and information was given to the students who took photos for their school project with their mobile phones (put to good use).

A steady walk took us to the Grey to Green walkway through some parts of Sheffield. What is Grey to Green you may well ask? It was devised by Sheffield City Council and responds to three key issues:

1. The need to reconnect the Castlegate area including the Law Courts and Victoria Quays to the rest of the city centre.
2. The need to re-use a large amount of redundant highway
3. The severe impact that the floods in June 2007 had on Castlegate.

Sheffield was built on rivers and so there was a great need to have better drainage system flowing rainwater back to rivers as in a more natural way. Planting beds with drought tolerant flowering plants in the basins along with improved cycling and walking routes, sculptures and seating areas  creates a beautiful place to live, work and play for all– man, birds and insects. To quote “ 24,000 bathtubs worth of water is prevented from entering Sheffield’s sewage treatment works each year by the sustainable drainage built into these planting beds.” See Google Grey to Green Sheffield.

A very enjoyable walk and talk given by Morag French, Landscape Architect and Design Tutor at Sheffield University’s School of Architecture and Landscape.

Moving on, feet getting a bit tired now, we negotiated crossing the unique  roundabout at West Bar designed with a Dutch Style layout to the back of the Cathedral with the usual style of buildings that befits a Cathedral square so different to the other buildings in Sheffield. Walking past the Cathedral to the Crucible Square  we had light refreshments at the HML Architects office and a visual talk given by a couple of young landscape architects on their recent project.

Rested and refreshed we continued through the Winter gardens and Peace Gardens to Cambridge Street to Leah’s Yard grade 2 listed. “Little Mesters” as it is called was where small tools would have been made like knife handles in the small courtyard buildings now being used for small shops and cafes linked by modern roofing and extensions. Alex Maxwell a local architect and historian guided us through its historical past.

Time for our packed lunch in the University Arts Tower a 1960’s construction. It is now the learning centre for Architecture and Landscaping. Time was given to view the students end of year exhibition to which Rachel and I had been invited the week before when the students were still on site and able to discuss their work. Leo and Rosie fully explained to the Hayfield students the structure of the three year course as an undergraduate. Time to put their ideas into action when a simple task was set to plan a community park so coloured pens and paper were given to some students. (No time for a quick snooze)

Finally, a short up the hill walk via Western Park to visit “The Wave” home for Social Sciences opened in 2023. It is the first carbon negative building in Sheffield but the students were warned as the first structure had to be pulled down before completion as it was sinking having water running under it. Chaos for the structural engineer, architect, builder, planner, local people and demolition team not to mention Sheffield and its economy. Food for thought!!!

A very exhausting day but so interesting and informative. Such a pleasure to have been with a group of keen students from a local Doncaster school. I am sure they would reflect upon the day as a very valuable insight into the life and skills of training and becoming an architect.

Tina Anderson