Tag Archives: Art and Architecture

COVENTRY STATION ARTWORK

Part One 1:1 The Visitor – 18th December 2020

I came to Coventry as a visitor … I left it as a friend.

In November 2020 I made a submission via Creative Giants & Coventry City Council for a public art commission to be installed on the architectural glazing of the amazing Grade II listed Coventry Station using digitally printed glazing vinyl. The artwork would be created in response to the Coventry City of Culture 2021 celebrations. What a brilliant thing to be involved with!

Image: Christopher Tipping

I was very excited to make this shortlist – and was then asked to develop some of the draft ideas submitted with the application before the final artist selection was made. On 18th December I sent myself to Coventry, a day return by train from my home in Ramsgate. There was no option, I had to see it for myself.

Coventry Station – first contact 18th December 2020. Image: Christopher Tipping

We may not know it or acknowledge it, but we all store impressions of places we have been. We intuitively know how a place makes us feel. We can learn how to navigate from A – B via landmarks rather than signage. Feeling our way around. Buildings, the curve of a street – the shape of a tree, the colour of a door, sounds and smells, a wobbly flagstone. I have been ‘looking’ at places in this way for thirty years or more. It’s a habit now, unselfconscious & automatic, creatively surveying spaces, unpicking and unravelling.

Coventry Station Terrazzo Concourse. Image: Christopher Tipping

This isn’t an academically critical or formal process, it is an emotional and personal one. You follow your nose. I follow mine. Seeing & feeling the shape, colour and texture of places. Cherry-picking images – a personal choice, but it starts to build an original visual language with which to understand & express for myself what makes a place interesting. I’m not looking for rights and wrongs either. I am simply fascinated by the way places communicate. Authenticity is hard to find. We live in a global and increasingly

I see patterns in everything. I am fascinated by pavement and pathways – I really am! – I see the history trodden into granite kerbs, threshold slabs, door handles. I notice the craft of buildings, no matter how grand or lowly. The hand of a maker. I see how people take pride in their place of work, their home, themselves.

Image: Christopher Tipping
Cauliflowers on display at Coventry Central Market. Image: Christopher Tipping

The celebration of our skills as makers and creators.

I explore on foot. I can’t drive. I seek out what is hidden and forgotten. I see the connections between things past and present. I like the backstreets and the secret places. Curiosity is a sharpened tool of my trade.

The trigger for a project is often a detail, a small thing, something out of the usual. It may be the people, the community who live and work. It is often a combination of several strands coming together, weaving a new narrative – telling a new story. Being a visitor, I will see things differently than if I lived there. Experiences will be novel, bombarded by difference. I will try to connect and talk to people if I can. I cover a s much ground as possible on foot – this way you see the minutiae. I visit archives and museum collections. It is an immersive process. My work is process driven. By that I mean I have to be doing something in order to discover what I am doing, or what I am looking for. I never start with an idea and try to make it. I have a client brief, with a set of parameters outlining desired outcomes. My impressions of places before I visit them or often at odds with the reality of seeing them for myself. I’m like a sponge in these situations, trying to soak up as much as I can. Shaking off what I already think I know about a place is critical. It can be overwhelming having to sift through everything that comes my way – but the things that resonate and stay true and uppermost in my mind eventually begin to coalesce and form the foundation of a start.

What did I know about Coventry? WWII Bombing. The Cathedral. ‘Being sent to …’, Midlands accent, I have visited Coventry previously, it may have been as a student. I have no recall of the Station. We may have come by coach. I do remember the Cathedral, but not in detail. It was probably the reason we came.

‘UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE CRANE’ ROCHESTER RIVERSIDE – PHASE 3 (3) CRANE POINT

‘B’ is for Bespoke…

RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals – Bespoke Letter ‘B’ in Honed Granite or Porphyry + Laser Etch – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher Tipping
RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letters 200221 Christopher Tipping

The proposals for the PCC Amphitheatre Steps and Seats are currently being considered by the client. In the meantime I am working up some drafts for the use bespoke highly detailed letters in a variety of materials ranging from granite and natural stones, to cast iron, enamelled steel, glazed architectural faience and Terrazzo. These letters will be fixed into the rebated text detail within the cast concrete seat riser, which will be 450mm high. Each bespoke letter can be 400mm high. The depth of the rebate will vary from 5mm to 30mm, however, the bespoke letters will all be best at 30mm deep, keeping them as robust as possible.

RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘O’ in Glazed Ceramic with Laser Etched Polished Granite inset detail – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher Tipping

Detail: PCC Amphitheatre at Rochester Riverside by LUC – Public art proposal for bespoke letter ‘O’ in architectural glazed ceramic with laser etched polished granite inset detail – 400mm high x 30mm deep. Image: Christopher Tipping

I am proposing to work in creative collaboration with a number of specialist manufacturers, amongst them Evans Concrete, Darwen Terracotta, Hardscape, A J Wells, Quiligotti and Hargreaves Foundry

RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘B’ in Scratched Polished Stone with Laser Etched detail – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher Tipping
RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘B’ in Honed Granite or Porphyry – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher Tipping
RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘B’ repeated in a variety of materials and finishes – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher Tipping

RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘B’s’ repeated in a variety of materials and finishes – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher Tipping

‘Under the Shadow of the Crane’ was initially an idea for a large scale granite ‘drawing’ to make up the pavement and public realm of the Crane Point site. Water jet cut granite slabs in two colours would form this extensive mosaic pavement, making permanent the ephemeral passing shadow of the crane, creating a physical memorial to the industrial heritage of the Riverside site.

Draft Plan drawing of granite paving ‘shadow’ mosaic to Crane Point. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: granite ‘shadow’ mosaic paving to the public realm at Crane Point. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: granite ‘shadow’ mosaic paving to the public realm at Crane Point. Image: Christopher Tipping

‘5 CRANES DANCING’ & OTHER STORIES FROM ROCHESTER RIVERSIDE – PHASES 1 & 2 (5)

By mid-December 2019, a number of the bespoke public art units (5 of 24) had been finally installed into the footpaths and thresholds of new properties along sections of Common Creek Wharf and Thalia Way. These parts of the site were fully occupied during the weeks leading up to Christmas. I will update as more units are installed –

Granite Unit ‘GOLDEN SAMPHIRE’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘GOLDEN SAMPHIRE’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘GOLDEN SAMPHIRE’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘SHELDUCK’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘SHELDUCK’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘SHELDUCK’ in progress at Hardscape England prior to being installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. This was a really complex unit to achieve. Image: Hardscape England
Granite Unit ‘SHELDUCK’ in progress at Hardscape England prior to being installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. This was a really complex unit to achieve. Image: Hardscape England
Granite Unit ‘WILLIAM CORY & SON LTD’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘WILLIAM CORY & SON LTD’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘WILLIAM CORY & SON LTD’ in progress at Hardscape England prior to being installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Hardscape England
Granite Unit ‘WILLIAM CORY & SON LTD’ being laser etched during production at Hardscape England prior to being installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Hardscape England
Cast Iron Unit ‘5 CRANES DANCING’ installed at Rochester Riverside. Manufactured to my designs by Hargreaves Foundry. Image: Christopher Tipping
Cast Iron Unit ‘5 CRANES DANCING’ installed at Rochester Riverside. Manufactured to my designs by Hargreaves Foundry. Image: Christopher Tipping
Cast Iron Unit ‘5 CRANES DANCING’ installed at Rochester Riverside. Manufactured to my designs by Hargreaves Foundry. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Concept Development Masterplan circa 2017, Rochester Riverside by BPTW. Below: Rochester Riverside 1936, Photograph by permission of Britain From Above.

Above: You may just be able to make out the ‘5 Cranes Dancing’...just below the CORY’S WHARF text . These cranes were eventually replaced by 2 x 200 tonne Cranes, each capable of lifting 10 tons at a time.

Granite Unit ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping

Granite Unit ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’ installed at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’ in prodution at Hardscape England prior to installation at Rochester Riverside. A variety of granites with water jet cut, inlaid, laser etched and sandblasted detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘ADA & EDITH’ installed at Rochester Riverside. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘ADA & EDITH’ installed at Rochester Riverside. Image: Christopher Tipping
Granite Unit ‘ADA & EDITH’ during manufacture at Hardscape England and now installed at Rochester Riverside. Image: Christopher Tipping

WINCHESTER STATION APPROACH – PART 10 – FINAL COMMENTS

This short creative contract to research and develop concept-led proposals for design interpretation and public art for Winchester Station Approaches has now completed.

Winchester Station and approaches 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping

This work was intended to inform discussion, dialogue and consultation with regard to the final form and feel for the public realm around Winchester Station. This form of placemaking based upon creative site analysis and creative research , which hopefully results in an original interpretation for the site, is essential to create a space fully responsive to its local environment and client & user aspirations.

Draft concept study for an interpretive public art & public realm to Winchester Station & Station Approaches. Image: Christopher Tipping Artwork superimposed onto LDS plan.
Draft concept study for an interpretive public art & public realm to Winchester Station & Station Approaches. Image: Christopher Tipping
Study with Key to concept & research led creative proposals for interpretation and public art with which to influence the design process for public realm at Winchester Station. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: This draft study detail of the key to materials, finishes and 3D objects, is a concept only proposal and not intended as a final design. Its description of materials, forms and finishes is subject to further discussion and comment. with a future project team.

Draft concept study for an interpretive public art & public realm to Winchester Station & Station Approaches. Image: Christopher Tipping
Draft concept study for an interpretive public art & public realm to Winchester Station & Station Approaches. Image: Christopher Tipping
Concept & creative interpretation studies for form and shape of seating, public art & interpretation for Winchester Station & Approaches. Image & Artwork by Christopher Tipping

WINCHESTER STATION APPROACH – PART 9 – STONES AS YET UNTURNED & OTHER STREAMS OF INFLUENCE!

On 24th July I came to Winchester to meet Annabelle Boyes (Receiver General) and Catherine Hodgson (Marketing Manager) at Winchester Cathedral.

High Altar of Winchester Cathedral. Image: Christopher Tipping

I had requested a meeting as a matter of courtesy, having visited the Cathedral several times previously during my research work for the Winchester Station Approach Project. It was important I met with Annabelle as I wished to discuss the possibility of collaborating with the Cathedral and particularly with the Stonemasons. Not only that, but I wished to know more about the Cathedral’s role in the community – an enormously broad subject, but nonetheless, one that I considered vital to understand the nature of its calling. It was of real interest to me to hear Annabelle talk about the Cathedral as a living place serving not only its faithful and local congregation, but everyone and anyone. A living and breathing building, actively engaging with and remaining vital to a worldwide audience in the 21st Century.

Winchester Cathedral Calling and Vision Publication. Image: Winchester Cathedral.

One outstanding calling is about welcome. In the Cathedra’s Calling and Vision document , emphasis is placed on welcome, access to all, hospitality and pilgrimage. The Cathedral Close is a haven for visitors and locals alike. The Station is also a Gateway to Winchester, so the same ethos ought to be present here in the public realm too, with an emphasis on welcome, and civic hospitality. A place of arrival and departure, a place of safety, a gateway and a welcome.

Marketing Manager Catherine Hodgson, then took me on a walk around the Cathedral and its outbuildings, including a visit to the stonemasons yard. Should the project progress to design stage, then I will certainly be advocating for a cross discipline collaboration with the Cathedral.

Carved stone head support from a 17th Century Memorial. Winchester Cathedral. Image: Christopher Tipping
A page taken from ‘ILLUMINATION’, showing an images of the 7th Century Anglo Saxon Alter Base. Development update from Winchester Cathedral ISSUE 17 – April 2019. Image: Winchester Cathedral
The Forecourt of the British Library by Colin St John Wilson 1998. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: The forecourt (piazza) of The British Library, St Pancras. Colin St John Wilson, 1998. The block seating at the crossing of the pavement grid, resemble the Cathedral’s stone carved or wooden bosses, which appear at the junctions of the stone ribs in the vaulted nave.

Timber carved roof bosses at the junctions of vaulted ribs in Winchester Cathedral. Image: Christopher Tipping
Sarsen Stone W17 N in Winchester on the corner of Minster Lane and St Thomas Street. Image: City of Winchester Website
Sarsen Stone W17 D, St John’s Church, St John’s Street, Winchester. Image: City of Winchester Website
Sarsen Stones in Winchester. Image: City of Winchester Website

Sarsen Stones in Winchester’, from the website of The City of Winchester – these sandstone blocks, sought after as ‘markers’, are an inspiration for block seating at Station Approach…see below…

Studies for stone aggregate Roof Boss Benches with laminated stone or terrazzo additions. Image: Christopher Tipping

A number of industries, which Winchester supported, including Watermills, Brewing and Iron Foundries depended upon an immediate and plentiful supply of water. Winchester’s waterways brought wealth to the Cathedral.

Amongst these industries, several stand out as examplers –

Winchester City Mill – one thousand years of history milling corn and the use of Millstones of Basaltic Stone.

Anatomy of a Millstone – General Reference. Image and Source: Wikipedia

Durngate Mill – demolished in 1966 after 700 years on the site.

City Engineering Works and Iron Foundry – Jewell Family of Middle and Lower Brook Street. Amongst other things the made components for the GWR Railways Winchester to Newbury Line. The family were also involved with Durngate Mill and the initials of Philip Charles Jewell appear on much cast iron work in the City.

Iron Founders and Engineers Dean & Smith

Walker & Co, Danemark Works –

Union Workhouse , Oram’s Arbour, Winchester –

Hyde Brewery , Hyde Street, Winchester –

The Waterways of Winchester-part2 – City of Winchester Trust News Spring 1995. Elizabeth Proudman’s first article was published in the Spring 1994 Newsletter. She continues her story. Image: City of Winchester Trust

Above: This section of text by Elizabeth Proudman begins the report into The Waterways of Winchester.

Drawing of the River Itchen as it courses through Winchester. Image: Christopher Tipping
Concept study of the River Itchen as it courses through Winchester against a backdrop of flint. Image: Christopher Tipping
Studies for stone aggregate (terrazzo) benches with inset River Itchen detail. Image: Christopher Tipping
Study for stone aggregate (terrazzo) bench with inset River Itchen detail & laminated contrasting stone end section. Image: Christopher Tipping
Concept study for architectural toughened glass & laminated bench with sandblasted and infilled River Itchen. Image: Christopher Tipping
Study for architectural toughened glass laminated bench with sandblasted and filled River Itchen detail & contrasting aggregate flint end section. Image: Christopher Tipping
Study for architectural toughened glass laminated bench – showing layers exploded – with sandblasted and filled River Itchen detail & contrasting aggregate flint end section. Image: Christopher Tipping
Studies for stone aggregate Bridge Benches with cantilever flint terrazzo addition. Image: Christopher Tipping
Studies for stone aggregate Bridge Benches with cantilever flint terrazzo or timber addition. Image: Christopher Tipping
Studies for stone aggregate column posts or perches with decorative motifs. Image: Christopher Tipping

ROCHESTER RIVERSIDE – PUBLIC ART IN PRODUCTION – ARTSCAPEOLOGY AT HARDSCAPE ENGLAND – PART 4

My recent trip up to Hardscape at Logistics North near Bolton was a ‘more than hoped for’ brilliant success. This work was conceived with care, skill and emotion. I feel I can honestly say it has been manufactured with care, with enormous skill and equal amounts of emotion. This is what I want to be doing with my time! Achieving beautiful things, creating good work, working with great people. Focussing on craft and natural materials, on age-old skills of hand and eye, fused with technological innovation. I want to work alongside and collaborate with people who are proud of what they do and shout it from the rooftops. –

OK – so with that out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the day’s outstanding work.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: My good friend, the ampersand. ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’. Unit size – 900mm x 300mm x 75mm. More ‘Tales from Rochester Riverside’…

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Details of ‘ADA & EDITH‘ , 900mm x 300mm x 75mm with an inverted ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’. at top. Unit size – 900mm x 300mm x 75mm.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Details of ‘ADA & EDITH‘ , 900mm x 300mm x 75mm with a rectangular block of Carlow Limestone crisply laser etched with the name ‘ADA’ & inset into a slab of Porphyry. An inverted ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’ at top, was also sandblasted and inset with text – unit size – 900mm x 300mm x 75mm.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Eleven of the fifteen units being created up at Hardscape are visible in this image.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: At bottom, ‘DUNLIN A SALTMARSH BIRD’, with water jet cut, inset, laser etched and sandblasted granite – unit size – 1200mm x 400mm x 75mm . At top, an inverted ‘GOOZERS & WATERMEN’ – unit size – 900mm x 300mm x 75mm.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

The beautifully detailed DUNLIN in black Carlow Limestone is laser etched, then water jet cut from its slab and inset into the red Shiraz base slab. The letter ‘D’ is also water jet cut from green Kobra Granite and inset into both the red Shiraz and the Black Carlow, bonded in place with a golden yellow resin specially selected for colour. The letter ‘U’ and other visible text is sandblasted. This is highly skilled and complex work. Looks bloody amazing too…

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: ‘GOOZERS & WATERMEN’ is no less complex, with water jet cut and inset text in Maple Red Granite, inlaid into a Black Carlow Limestone base slab, which is in turn sandblasted with text and laser etched to two depths to create the rippling water effect. See images below.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: The laser etched text ‘Watermen’ on the ‘GOOZERS & Watermen’, panel is wonderfully delivered with a deeper etch to the centre and a delicate lighter etch to the outline. This attention to detail and finish it what makes these bespoke units so outstanding.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Detail of ‘SHELDUCK’, Laser etched bird motif on black Carlow Limestone, water jet cut-out and inset into a Kobra Green base slab. Letter ‘D’ is also water jet cut and inset. The other letters are sandblasted into the Kobra Green. Unit size – 960mm x 400mm x 75mm

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Details of ‘SHELDUCK’ & ‘PERENNIAL GLASSWORT’, just two of our 15 tales from Rochester Riverside. ‘SHELDUCK’, is a laser etched bird motif on black Carlow Limestone, water jet cut-out and inset into a Kobra Green base slab with large letter ‘D’ also water jet cut and inset. The other letters are sandblasted into the Kobra Green. Unit size – 960mm x 400mm x 75mm. ‘PERENNIAL GLASSWORT’ is a red Shiraz slab base sandblasted to two depths for text and plant motifs. Royal White & Carlow Limestone letters have also been inset into the surface.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Detail of some of the letters of ‘PERENNIAL GLASSWORT’ sandblasted into red Shiraz granite.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: ‘MARSH COWS GRAZING’..& other tales from Rochester Riverside’ is Unit No. 8 in a sequence of 15 bespoke granite units along with 9 bespoke cast iron units together create a story about the history and use of this site from Medieval times to the present day. The slabs are robust and heavyweight, adding a physical presence to the narratives they embody. The lives and livelihoods of Rochester people are represented here. These histories live on in stone and cast iron.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Detail of letters ‘C’ & ‘O’, bot water jet cut and inset from Maple Red Granite and Porphyry respectively and inset into sandblasted Kobra green Granite.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above & Below: ‘BLUE BOAR CREEK’ & ‘GOLDEN SAMPHIRE’, 2 more Tales from Rochester Riverside. Large letter ‘B’ water jet cut from Maple Red Granite, inset into Black Carlow Limestone with laser etched detail.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: ‘GOLDEN SAMPHIRE’ still has the resin bond material smeared over the surface…the cleaned up version can be seen below.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: The large letter ‘S’ is water jet cut from black Carlow Limestone, which has beautiful white shell deposits within its matrix., which are wonderfully contrasting when wet.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above & Below: ’15 BARGES STARTED THE RACE’ & ‘RUSSET BROWN & OCHRE SAILS’. Both bespoke units exhibit great colour contrast and use of stone. Deliberate use of coloured resin bond to fix water jet cut motifs in place adds another dimension.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Detail of the red Shiraz base slab with sandblasted text into which is inset a 2 colour motif with Maple Red granite and Kobra Green, fixed with a coloured resin bond.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above and Below: ‘THE FIVE BROTHERS’ & ‘SPRITSAIL BARGE’, share a base slab of Porphyry, with sandblasted text and motifs. FIVE BROTHERS has the word ‘FIVE’ inset in water jet cut Maple Red, whilst SPRITSAIL has three letters ‘S’ ‘g’ & ‘L’ inset in Royal White for contrast.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above and images below: ‘COAL – METER HEAVER WHIPPER’ & ‘WILLIAM CORY & SON LTD COAL FACTORS’. 2 Tales from Rochester Riverside…

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: Top slab1200mm x 400mm x 75mm – Crystal Black base slab with sandblasted text & water jet cut and inset Maple Red rectangle with additional inset text in Crystal Black. Bottom slab960mm x 400mm x 75mm – Black Carlow Limestone base slab with sandblasted text and motifs with water jet cut and inset Maple Red granite letters and motifs.

Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Hardscape
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Hardscape

Rochester riverside – public art in production – hardscape england – part 2 –

Oh my word…we’re on a roll in production up at Hardscape in Bolton.

These images are hot off the press, as skilled stone specialists at Hardscape focus on the applied detail. Water jet cutting, inlaying, sandblasting and laser etching their way through 15 bespoke units destined to be embedded into the landscape of the new housing development at Rochester Riverside for client Countryside Properties. This work needs to be handled with care and demands high levels of craft skills. Hardscape have been excellent at providing creative collaboration .

Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
Artwork for bespoke detailed granite Public Art Unit ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’ in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping

Above: This is the ‘&’ from ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’. Water jet cut into a slab of Red Shiraz Granite 900mm x 300mm x75mm. It is awaiting the inlaying of the circle of yellow Amarelo Real Granite. It looks amazing. WALRUS & NELLIE were the names of two portable aggregate conveyors loading stone and cobbles on and off barges at Cory’s Wharf, Blue Boar Hard.

Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape

Above: This is the laser etched ‘DUNLIN A SALTMARSH BIRD’, , waiting to be water jet cut from its slab of beautiful Carlow Limestone & inset into a slab of red granite. See image below, where the DUNLIN has been partially cut out from the block in concentric linear patterns. This is a complex unit, with other letters inlaid. Precision is key. These beautifully crafted objects embedded in the landscape, will be a gentle reminder of the natural, social and industrial history of the site.

Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
Detail: ‘DUNLIN A MARSHLAND BIRD’. Bespoke granite water jet cut motifs. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
Artwork for ‘DUNLIN’. This motif is to be Laser Etched onto a Carlow Limestone slab, then cut out and inlaid into a red Shiraz slab. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
Artwork for bespoke detailed granite Public Art Unit ‘DUNLIN A MARSHLAND BIRD” in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
’15 BARGES STARTED THE RACE 1930′. Sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
’15 BARGES STARTED THE RACE 1930′. Sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
Artwork for ’15 BARGES STARTED THE RACE 1930′.Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green & Shiraz. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
‘RUSSET BROWN & OCHRE SAILS’. Sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
Artwork for ‘RUSSET BROWN & OCHRE SAILS’.Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green, Amarelo Real & Shiraz. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
‘SPRITSAIL BARGES’ & ‘FIVE BROTHERS’. . Sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
‘SPRITSAIL BARGE’ . Detailed sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required throughout. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
Drawing of a Spritsail Barge, used on the River Medway and of a type originally built on our site at Rochester Riverside in the 19th Century. Image: Christopher Tipping
Artwork for ‘SPRITSAIL BARGES’. Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green, Amarelo Real & Shiraz. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
Artwork for ‘THE FIVE BROTHERS”. Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green, Amarelo Real & Shiraz. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
‘SHELDUCK’. Laser Etching of a Shelduck on a Carlow Limestone slab underway with delicate handling of the detail required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape

The laser etched image of the Shelduck will now be water jet cut out of the Carlow slab and the motif inlaid into a slab of Kobra Green Granite, which has the shape of the bird already cut into the surface.

Interesting to note also that the Carlow Limestone has beautiful fossil shells embedded. Also note that these are not my feet, they probably belong to Pedro, who is overseeing and also working on my project. Without skilled people like this, I would be lost !

Artwork for ‘SHELDUCK’. This motif is to be Laser Etched onto a Carlow Limestone slab. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
Artwork for ‘SHELDUCK’. Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green & Carlow Limestone. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping

ROCHESTER RIVERSIDE IN PRODUCTION – HARDSCAPE ENGLAND

Mid-September and it was up to Hardscape, Bolton to see progress on the manufacture of the bespoke inlaid granite paving units. As ever, the works are of a really high quality and Hardscape are always keen to progress & test their creative collaborations.

15 granite units are in production. These vary in size from 1200mm x 400mm x 75mm to 900mm x 300mm x 75mm and are destined to be installed at the thresholds to housing & apartment blocks at Rochester.

15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping

This work is achieved via water jet cutting and inlay techniques using colour matched resin to bond granite elements in place. Text and other motifs are also sandblasted at varying depths.

1 of 15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units in production at Hardscape for Rochester Riverside – with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Hardscape
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units in production at Hardscape for Rochester Riverside – with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Hardscape
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units in production at Hardscape for Rochester Riverside – with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Hardscape
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units in production at Hardscape for Rochester Riverside – with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Hardscape
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units in production at Hardscape for Rochester Riverside – with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Hardscape
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: 1 of 15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Water jet cutting paths for 1 of 15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Water jet cutting paths for 1 of 15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping
Detail: Water jet cutting paths cleaned up for 1 of 15 granite paving units for Rochester Riverside with inlaid and sandblasted details. Image: Christopher Tipping

WINCHESTER STATION APPROACH – PART 2 – June 2019

These sketches and studies below are part of a series of early drafts and drawings, which were completed in June this year. They were derived from contextual research and concept design development for the generation of the interpretive public art elements at Winchester Station. Several versions of this initial research have been submitted for discussion and comment.

Draft concept visuals for Winchester Station Approaches. Images: Christopher Tipping
Draft concept visuals for Winchester Station Approaches. Images: Christopher Tipping
Plan view of the Station approaches. Image: Christopher Tipping

These early drafts considered an ‘all-over’ repeating pattern for natural sandstone paving, influenced by the Cathedral’s extant 13th Century medieval inlaid ceramic floor tiles – and used here as a super-graphic motif. At this time I was not responding to any masterplan proposals from the client’s Architects and Urban Planners LDS – as these had not yet been circulated for discussion. The ideas were formulated in response to my own research in the city and now form the foundations of my project approach.

Concept drafts for repeat pattern paving influenced by the Cathedral Medieval Tiled floors. Image: Christopher Tipping
Concept drafts for repeat pattern paving influenced by the Cathedral Medieval Tiled floors & built environment. Image: Christopher Tipping
A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping

The building stones of Winchester are hugely influential when looking at the interpretation of place and the significance of the Station as a gateway to the City. Although granite has been used here, local sandstones and limestones with flint and brick dominate.

The low lying architectural scale and presentation of the Station buildings, warrant a softer frame with regard to paving. Sandstone fits this bill. Granite being perhaps too corporate and ubiquitous for this site.

A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping









A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping









A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping
A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping
A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping
A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping

The City has a strong tradition of procession and pilgrimage, which reinforces notions of way finding and direction, arrival and departure, as well as the physical experience of walking and the materials you are walking upon.