On Thursday 8th May 2014, at an event at the Walpole Bay Hotel in Cliftonville, the Margate Flood and Coast Protection Scheme, aka ‘Margate Steps’ was awarded a Town Pride Award 2014 by the Margate Civic Society.
Margate Civic Society, Town Pride Award 2014
This follows the 2013 award given to the project at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South East England Engineering Excellence Awards 2013. This award was particularly welcomed as it recognised the benefit of the project in enhancing the experience of its host community. The project team behind the scheme received the award from ICE Senior Vice President, Geoff French, at a ceremony which was held at Leeds Castle on Friday 7 June. The awards recognise the best civil engineering projects across South East England with the judges looking for projects that deliver a real benefit to society through the knowledge, skills and professional expertise of civil engineers.
Margate Steps, Sunset
The revetment steps are now almost a year old and appear to have been really taken to heart by both the community & visitors alike. As well as fulfilling a vital role as protection from the risk of flooding, the defences were designed as a stepped revetment which accommodates integrated seating and lighting to provide an incredible amenity and public realm from which to enjoy Margate’s famous coastal views and sunsets.
This is the Central Chelmsford development as seen from the southern edge of the site, looking north.Draft designs for granite inset text to York stone steps & cnc routed text to timber seating of ‘The Steps’ at the southern end of the site.
The Central Chelmsford development has been in progress on site since 2012. I was commissioned to join the team as project artist in January of this year.
You can hear more on the project via this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orYUpbnacis
The site has a number of key buildings which were once a part of of Anglia Ruskin University. 507 new homes as well as retail and offices will make up the new development. The project is delivering a new community in Chelmsford.
One of the most historic & resonant as well as the earliest buildings on the site is the Grade II listed Anne Knight building, a former Friends Meeting House from 1824. Named after one of Chelmsford’s most distinguished women, Anne Knight 1786 – 1862. Anne Knight was a Quaker and a stalwart Anti Abolitionist, attending the World Anti Slavery Convention meeting held in London in 1840. Her views and correspondence on women’s rights led to her publishing what is considered to be the very first leaflet on women’s suffrage in 1847.
I have also responded to the landscape plans and architectural flow & rhythm of the site as well exploring how the various elements & spaces of the site are navigated and used by pedestrians. As the hub of a new community, the communal areas of the development are important places for people to take ownership of.
As well as collaborating with the project team I am also working and collaborating with several manufacturers and specialist contractors such as Hardscape, Ashfield Ltd & City Squared on elements of paving, seating and steps throughout the site, where interventions will be made via cnc routed text into timber and water jet cut and sandblasted granite.
I am working with City Squared in Leeds to develop the bespoke timber seating as well as to perfect the cnc routed text applied to the the timber. I have most recently been in discussions with a typographer to ensure that all the text is delivered with clarity and distinction.Draft visual for proposals to sandblast detail onto a large granite platform seat.An aerial view of the site which sits adjacent to the railway line – outlined here in red.Vertically set, black brick curving facade of The Gate which forms the key elevation & gateway on siteDetail: Plan drawings & draft scope for timber seating and granite detailing within The PlaceThere are a number of brick built tree planters within The Place. Several of them have timber seating detailed as part of the artwork scheme. This visual for a large timber platform seat with longitudinal timbers is still in development. It will also have text added via cnc routing. Visual by City Squared.Draft: Granite text to York Stone double step risers with timber seatEarly draft visual – an elevation drawing of The Steps, with inset granite text to York Stone risers and digital manifestation to the glazed curtain wall.
On 9th May 2014, the Margate Flood & Coast Protection Scheme, aka the Margate Steps will have been officially opened for a year. It is rewarding to see that:
1. The sea defence works are working !…the storms over winter clearly tested the engineering.
2. That the wonderful amenity space we envisaged (over and above its primary function as a sea defence works) would have become such an addition to the Margate sea front environment. I will be posting images and text from the project’s history over the coming weeks.
It was an amazing project to be involved with. I promised myself I would swim off the steps at high tide to celebrate the opening. I missed my opportunity, so am trying again ! Look out for the guy in a wet suit trying hard not to look cold !
A video of Margate Steps can be seen here on its official opening day on 9th May 2013.
I think we can safely say that Margate Steps has benefitted the community.
The blue text outlined below formed a much larger visual narrative prepared to support & inform the designs for the sea defence works. It is made up of historic, anecdotal and real time events which occurred along the length of the new sea defences.
Mr Brown led the donkeys on Margate Sands for years..The blue text images
The scale of the new public realm and amenity space which the new steps provided can be seen in the aerial images. Image by Simon MooresThe scale of the amenity space and public realm which the new sea defences have brought to Margate can be appreciated in this aerial image by kind permission of Simon Moores.A clearwater day on 9th May 2013 when the project was officially opened.A clearwater day for the official opening of the project on 9th May 2013
The Jubilee Building Central Concourse Project at Musgrove Park Hospital has now completed on site and the new surgical building was fully opened on 7th April 2014.
This art commission was led by Steven Power, Senior Project Manager for Capital Projects at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton along with Architects BDP and Contractor BAM. Specialist contractors Architen Landrell, Metafab Solutions Ltd and Digital Printers VGL were all integral to the success of the design & production. Bronwen Gwillim, formally Art Co-ordinator of Art for Life at the Hospital initially led the commissioning and early stages of the art project in 2012, and handed over to Lisa Harty in her new role as Arts Co-ordinator to oversee its completion.
The tensile artwork, funded by the Heritage Lottery celebrates the completion of the Jubilee Building as well as commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Hospital originally founded as a US Field Hospital in World War Two. I worked with the Hospital archive and the archivist Louise Donovan as well as bringing my own experience to bear, having been associated with the Hospital for the last 7 years and Lead Artist on a number of projects.
Final Artwork for the front elevation of the screen.A library of images was built up with which to collage the artwork. These individual motifs all have a part of the visual narrative to present.
Installation in progress in Central ConcourseDetail: draft detail for tensile screenTensile Screen as seen from from Level 1of Central ConcourseTensile frame under construction by Metafab Solutions Ltd working for Architen LandrellTensile frame in construction by Metafab Solutions Ltd
Tensile frame in production by Metafab Solutions LtdTensile frame under construction by Metafab Solutions LtdDigitally printed tensile fabric being processed for panel assmbly at Architen LandrellDigitally printed tensile fabric produced by VGL in Reading, being prepared for panel assembly at Architen LandrellTensile screen installation in progress.
