On 5th March 2015, I made a presentation to the Bus Station Stakeholders Meeting of current contextual research in relation to the Bus Station project and the Link Bridge Study.
I thought it may be of interest to post all these images here. There are a fair few – so bear with it ! – it is useful to know how the research is being delivered and what is shaping my approach. The screenshot image below gives a clear idea of the number of images I am posting – stick with it as there are some great images and quotations…
I have credited all sources of information and am grateful to all organisations and individuals who have assisted me thus far. Where permissions to use images have not been possible, these images have been withdrawn from posting online.
Where Ordnance Survey Maps have been used, they are all out of copyright, however, I have added a credit – ‘Reproduced from the …date… Ordnance Survey Map’, which the Ordnance Survey suggest on their website.
At the scale above – the individual images are not so clear – so I have added all the images individually. It makes for a long post – but hopefully you will find something of interest here ! Here goes – Image No.1 …
My colleague Jenni Muston at Rockpanel, has sent me some wonderful new images taken of the ‘Heart of the Campus’ facade artwork by the photographer Jason Newsome.
He has really managed to get some brilliant shots in varying light, which show off the variations in surface quality and light reflection. Thanks to both!
The West Elevation artwork has a great impact on the building facade.
The rainscreen artwork was produced in collaboration with Rockpanel and The Cutting Room in Huntingdon. Project Contractors:GRAHAM – Project Architects: HLM Sheffield.
Hardscape have just completed sandblasting the large granite platform seat for my project at Burgess Springs, Central Chelmsford. They sent over a couple of images yesterday. Looking pretty good from here – really want to see more images !
Hard to convey to convey the size of this piece of work – each slab is approx. 1200mm x 1200mm.
I think they have done a great job – cant wait to see it installed on site.
Tuesday, August 2nd 2014 – Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield Hallam University. Today I attended on site to review the Phase 1 glazing manifestation artwork installations for myself and meet with VGL who were on site to view the works in tandem with the main contractor, Graham Construction. I was also meeting with the University Clients to review the final scope for the Phase 2 installation of artwork. The building now appears to be semi open for use – but still going through various procedures and protocols, I suppose to ensure all goes smoothly once the mass of students arrive later this month! Great not to have to gear up with PPE. The building is looking amazing. Graham & HLM have done a wonderful job. External landscape is almost completed. The East Elevation of the building has an amazing aspect. It was a clear blue-sky day with lots of sun, which are good conditions for looking at the manifestations, as they are more likely to cast great shadows, which add considerably to the impact and variation within the works.
The West Elevation rain screen is really quite reflective in strong sun. Athough this is a painted grey finish, it is glossy and can appear metallic. The exposed Rockpanel material beneath the colour coat has now really darkened from the earlier yellow colour. The surface is more subtle, but richer in appearance. The impact is muted from afar, but the details really begin to emergeon the approach.
This is the three storey central atrium space and ‘Heart of the Campus’. The client had originally commissioned artwork manifestations to much of the visible glazing, but on reflection, the transparency and legibility of the interior spaces & architectural form may have been compromised and it was decided to omit them from the project. The artwork manifestations to the ground floor exterior curtain wall glazing, linking the East and North entrances, is still being commissioned as the Phase 2 works.
Tuesday 26th August 2014 Several images of the installation have just come in from VGL ‘s installers. These are low res images. I will be making a trip up to Sheffield in the next week or so to review the site prior to the Phase 2 works being undertaken. I will hopefully get more detailed images too !
I made a site visit to the Heart of the Campus building along with Andrew Illingworth, Interior Designer for HLM Architects & Garry Farmer, Project Manager for Graham Construction, the main contractors on the project. Seen from Collegiate Crescent, the building is just visible behind the mature Beech trees.
I have been commissioned to extend the original brief for a cnc routed Rockpanel rainscreen on the West Elevation to include digitally printed vinyl manifestations for the East Elevation glazed curtain wall and interiors. This was an incredibly useful visit as the building has really moved forward since my last time here in January this year.
The interior atrium is three storeys high and filled with light. It is a dynamic architectural space which has as a centrepiece, a cantilevered cube projecting out from the first floor. When sunlight floods in via the fully glazed atrium roof, the whole building is suffused with light and shadows.
Whilst on site I couldn’t resist a quick look at the West Elevation Rockpanel ‘drawing’. This artwork is cnc routed into the rain screen panels & was manufactured by The Cutting Room in Huntingdon. The exposed base material, almost a bright yellow colour when first exposed, darkens in contact with sunlight and has now achieved its permanent shade. This is more subtle then when first installed, & has now blended in with its architectural setting. Up close, the detail is crisp and casts strong shadows on a sunny day.
The first drafts for the glazing manifestations were produced in January this year and use the same iconography as the West Elevation cnc work. The manifestations however, being digitally printed, have no need for hard edges and manageable cutting paths. The designs will work with transparency and light to achieve their results. Digital printing further allows for a range of softer and finer details to be introduced. This is what I am currently working on. The manifestations serve a distinct purpose and have to comply with building regulations. Beyond that, the artwork can develop in many original ways to drift through the building.
On Monday 23rd July, the draft designs for the Heart of the Campus project were approved by the board. I am now starting to work with the Cutting Room in Huntingdon to begin sampling the cnc routing process.
The area around Bransholme has been farmed, cultivated, reclaimed & regenerated slowly over a period of 1000 years. In 1966 the green landscape of ditches & fields was to change dramatically & radically with the building of the new satellite town of Bransholme, now home to over 30,000 people.
The area is still rich in its bio-diversity. The streams, ditches, drains & dykes which dissect Bransholme & its surrounding land provide habitat for a diverse flora & fauna.
At the very heart of Bransholme stands the new Winifred Holtby Secondary and Tweendykes Special School.
This project was inspired by the locality and its rich history and topography. It was equally driven by the relationship which developed within the project team, which included both Head Teachers.
The artwork was digitally printed onto optically clear vinyl & applied to the curtain wall glazing, which spanned both school environments at Winifred Holtby & Tweendykes Schools. It was manufactured & installed by Artworks Solutions Ltd. The new Schools are part of a ‘Building Schools for the Future’ initiative.
Client: Esteem Consortium, Morgan Sindall & JM Architects with Art Consultant Andrew Knight.