St Botolph's New Square

This project is the first new urban space for Colchester's Cultural Quarter. The square has a simple aesthetic of grey blue stone and white concrete punctuated by detailed mosaic benches in gold, pink and brown.

The use of mosaic refers back to the history of the site as a mosaic workshop in Roman times. The Square sits around the Rafael Vinoly Visual Arts Facility which is a semi circular golden building.

The site is part of a Conservation Area and is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, due to the proximity of the roman wall and archaeological remains at lower levels. These remains are preserved by careful design and construction using raised ground levels.

KLA are working closely with the conservation officer, English Heritage, the various design teams and a multi-headed client group to bring their disparate needs together into one simple beautiful design.