Dallas–Pierce–Quintero

Welcome to Watford

Our challenge was to deliver some of the aims of our Watford Cultural Strategy 2018-2025, by creating a welcoming and impressive first impression of Watford, that celebrated the town’s distinctiveness.  A new cycle hub created an opportunity to declutter the existing station forecourt of cycle parking and make optimum use of this high-value piece of public realm.

A welcoming and impressive first impression of Watford
Before - The existing station forecourt
After - A new public realm
Before - The existing station forecourt
After - A welcoming arrival from the station exit

The project combines large-scale lettering offering bespoke, illuminated seating with new planting and hard landscaping.  We were keen to use the letters themselves to communicate different aspects of Watford’s identity today, whilst creating a playful reinterpretation of seating.

Illuminated large-scale lettering
Illuminated large-scale lettering
A playful public realm
A playful public realm
A playful public realm
A playful public realm
A playful public realm
A playful public realm

Our aim was to transform what was a nondescript place for passing through, into a welcoming and friendly environment, encouraging visitors to stay longer and return again.  The project signposts to Watford’s other offers, aiming to attract new businesses and improve footfall for the town’s existing retail, culture and leisure.  The positioning of the letters and inground wayfinding help to support intuitive wayfinding, directing visitors to the town centre and encouraging walking and cycling over less sustainable modes of transport.

Embedded content promoting Watford
Embedded content promoting Watford
Embedded content promoting Watford

“We could not have got the project over the line without all D-P-Q’s hard work and they should be proud of what has been achieved. It’s a real landmark for Watford and a great first ‘gateway’ impression for visitors to our town.”

Watford Borough Council

We collaborated with graphic designer Stephen Barrett to incorporate text within the letters that allude to the town’s remarkable printing heritage and reveal the meaning of each letter.

Letterform study drawing
Graphic design inspired by the town’s printing heritage
Revealing the meaning of each letter

The project had to provide for the complexities of being situated outside one of the busiest stations on the London to Birmingham route. We worked closely with the client, Watford Borough Council, together with Network Rail, London Northwestern Railway, other local stakeholders in the development and the main contractor to ensure minimal disruption to the experience of day-to-day commuters during the works.

Layout plan drawing showing the new station forecourt

“We celebrated all that Watford has to offer with a playful public realm response designed to lift people’s mood on a daily basis. We hope this project will demonstrate the immense value of quality public space by encouraging both social and physical interaction.”

Juliet Quintero
Dallas-Pierce-Quintero

 

 

A key part of the brief was to create installations that can be relocated to accommodate future plans for large-scale station development.  In response to this, the letters and planters have been fabricated to be easily removable and adjustable to different sloping gradients of the site.  The planters are purpose built from weathered steel and provide additional seating and standing support, whilst evergreen and deciduous planting provides interest and colour year round, adding a softer backdrop and screening the forecourt from the traffic.

Watford, Hertfordshire, 2019 – 2020
Client: Watford Borough Council
Collaborators: Fold Engineering, NES Architectural, Stephen Barrett
Photography: Luke Hayes

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