Castlegate Co-Production

Live Works is working with Sheffield City Council, the Department of Archaeology, local community groups and independent local businesses to co-produce a shared development strategy for the Castle site.

2014 – ongoing / Castlegate, Sheffield / in partnership with Sheffield City Council, UoS Department of Archaeology, Friends of Sheffield Castle and many others

Since 2014, Live Works has been coordinating numerous projects exploring the future of Castlegate, a run-down area of the city centre which is the historic birthplace of the city. Castlegate has been home to 800 years of market trading, theatres, industry and one of the largest castles in England, demolished in 1650. Working with archaeologists, community groups, local businesses and the local council, our students and graduates have developed a clear vision for the future development of the site. This design work, and the participatory research that underpins it, is playing a vital part in a collective community-led campaign to propose the development of a new neighbourhood, accessible to all, that celebrates the rich heritage of the site while creating a viable sustainable future. 

Castlegate projects include:

ReMake Castlegate: As part of Festival of the Mind 2014 local people were invited to work with a large physical model of Castlegate, to express, record and share memories, opinions and ideas for the future of the area.

Revealing the Castle: Live Project students worked with Friends of Sheffield Castle, archaeologists and local stakeholders to develop a vision for the regeneration of the Castle site:  http://www.liveprojects.org/2016/revealing-the-castle/

The vision has been adopted by FoSC and included in their ‘Blueprint for the Castle Site’, launched November 2019: http://friendsofsheffieldcastle.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/FoSC-Bluepirnt.pdf

Harmony Works: Live Project students worked with Sheffield Music Academy and Sheffield Music Hub to produce a vision for the £10m remodelling of a historic building in Castlegate to provide a new centre for young people’s music education and performance: http://www.liveprojects.org/2017/harmony-works/

This was then developed by Live Works to raise industry sponsorship and significant development funds from Sheffield City Council and the Architectural Heritage Fund to progress the project up to a full Planning Application.

Experience Castlegate: An AR installation that showcases a new 3D digital model of Sheffield Castle in the context of contemporary Castlegate, and invites people to engage with visions for the future of the site.

Live Works is part of the Castlegate Partnership, a collaboration between Sheffield City Council, the Universities, local community groups (inc. Friends of Sheffield Castle and Harmony Works) and independent local businesses that advocates for a high-quality, sustainable, community-led regeneration of the Castle site that celebrates the rich heritage of the area. The design ideas and research done by SSoA students and Live Works over the last 5 years, have been and continue to be instrumental in raising aspirations for the development of the site.