Installation art in two new London developments inspired by the local community Art and architecture have always been intrinsically linked. Art has often reflected the changing landscape of cities and urban spaces, with classical and modern pieces of architecture regularly deemed ‘works of art’ in their own right. With ever increasing demands for housing in the capital, the competition to get noticed and offer residents different, engaging and attractive homes is fierce. Standing out from the crowd are the developments that offer an environment that not only provides the comforts of efficient modern design but reflects cultural and historical links to the immediate area.   Housing developer Peabody has recently launched two central London developments that have incorporated high quality contemporary living space with exciting and engaging artwork, unique to each development. Both, More West in W10 and St John’s Way in SW11 are perfect examples of a successful balance between aesthetics, culture, history and practicality. These two schemes have both utilised the local history and heritage of their respective areas in creating art installations that will be on permanent display to residents, locals and passers-by.   More West is located in the heart of one of London’s best arts and culture scenes near Notting Hill and Portobello Road. Contemporary British artist Nathan Coley was chosen from a shortlist of accomplished artists by Peabody and architects Haworth Tompkins to design and install a piece of public art central to the development’s overall look and feel. Originally drawn to the project because of ‘Peabody’s strong history’, Turner Prize nominee Coley formed his final idea, a seven metre high abstract apple tree sculpture gilded with 24 carat gold leaf, after comprehensive research into the local area. The sculpture, situated on the development rooftop, reflects the intriguing history of a small community that lived on the site in the 1970’s. Known as the Free Independent Republic of Frestonia, each member of the local group of residents changed their surname to ‘Bramley’ taking inspiration from a local street name Bramley Road. Coley’s research and subsequent unearthing of the Frestonian’s history inspired his ‘Bramley apple’ sculpture that was “….a light bulb moment,” Coley comments.   “It was important to choose the artist early on in the design process,” states Andrew Rowson architect at Haworth Tompkins. “It’s always fascinating to see what an artist will create when collaborating on a project and it was Nathan’s approach to the site and to working with Peabody, Haworth Tompkins and the residents that was really exciting. The most interesting aspect however, was how three separate elements were brought together to tell a story about a very interesting, but mainly forgotten history. There was of course the main sculpture displayed on the development but also individual sculptures that were given to residents and the publication of an accompanying book. Brought together they appealed to an audience, both at a city and national level, but also they sought to create a bond with the past and a sense of community for the new residents.”   Visible from Latimer Road Underground station, Coley’s apple tree plays an important new part in the local landscape, its presence echoing the site’s history, brings a sense of pride to the development and a permanent art fixture in the area.   Equally inspiring but with a very different approach, St John’s Way situated near Clapham Junction, features installation artwork in its structural brickwork, created by artist Rodney Harris. “The conceptual basis for the sculptural intervention is to commemorate the philanthropy of George Peabody and celebrate the people, past and present living in the area,” comments Harris. He further adds, “I have created a series of four brick relief sculptures, carved in identical material to the surrounding brickwork resembling the presence of memories and histories.”   Harris’ integrated artworks include; services uniforms, pinafores, tools and a Butler’s sink which will be installed with further sculptures across the remaining phases of the development. Each location for the artworks has been chosen to, “…provide varying natural light… how it changes over a day will vary the clarity of each artwork,” states Harris. Iain Cochran of architects Hawkins Brown further adds, “Involving an artist on architectural schemes can bring many benefits to a project including a strong, unique identity and an opportunity for the building users to inhabit an environment in a subtle and personal way.” Each sculpture has been placed at a specific location around the development designed to increase legibility, identity and serve as navigational markers ‘creating a sculptural trail’.   In addition to tangible artwork, More West had its very own Artist In Residence supported by amongst others Peabody, the V&A Museum, RIBA, and Haworth Tompkins. Constantine Gras was selected as the official Artist In Residence in part because of his existing community work having previously worked on the site at a former day care centre. For the duration of his seven month residency from 2014 to 2015, Constantine involved a range of media, “…exploring urban and social issues often working collaboratively with other artists and communities,” he states. Constantine’s brief, ‘to create art in response to the More West development and to connect this with both local residents and the museum’s architectural galleries’, inspired him to run 10 community events ‘based around architecture, housing and regeneration’. Run from either his studio looking over the development or the V&A, Gras’ projects included the screening of a film made in the local area in 1969 called Leo the Last, drawing events and displays of local historical maps and images. “I had extensive knowledge of the rich, complex social history of the area,” says Gras. “It was an extremely busy but rewarding time for me and it was a pleasure to be the Artist In Residence,” he adds. Over 1,700 people attended Gras’ V&A end of residency display ‘Vision of Home’.   Both artistic enterprises at More West and St John’s Way have gone beyond visuals. They have taken to heart the social, cultural and historical influences of

Wrightstyle, the UK steel and aluminium glazing company, has completed a major upgrading project at Cardiff Central Station for Network Rail Wales. The completion follows a similar project at Cardiff Queen Street station, in a major programme that Network Rail describes as the largest-ever rail enhancement scheme in Wales. The overall project, working with BAM Construction, is part of the Cardiff Stations Enhancement Scheme, and which saw Wrightstyle supply some 300 square metres of Schueco’s FW60XR enhanced curtain wall system, along with doors, windows and automated sliding entrance doors. Cardiff Central Station currently handles 13 million passengers a year, but by 2043 this is projected to reach 32 million, a rise of 144%. The £220 million Welsh project, which had to be finished before the Rugby World Cup, has improved station entrances, added new platforms, upgraded track and signalling – designed to increase reliability and capacity on the Cardiff and Valleys rail network. Richard Panniers, project surveyor for Bam Construction said: “This has been a project of enormous complexity – not least to ensure that all aspects were completed to budget and on time, with both Cardiff Central and Queen Street stations remaining open during upgrading works. “Wrightstyle had to work within those constraints, and the company’s glass and glazing components have helped transform both stations into modern and safe transport hubs,” he said. The Cardiff contract further extended Wrightstyle’s commercial relationship with Network Rail for whom it has supplied systems for several stations, most notably for the refurbishment of London’s King’s Cross. “At Wrightstyle, we have long experience in both rail and airport projects – for example, for a major rail hub in Hong Kong and the Dubai Metro and, In the UK, in several railway and Underground stations,” said Tim Kempster, Wrightstyle’s managing director. “Our comprehensive range of advanced doors, internal screens and external glazing systems are designed to contain fire, smoke and toxic gases for up to two hours, and have been successfully tested against both ballistic and bomb attack,” he said. To receive Wrightstyle’s regular newsletter, simply subscribe at www.wrightstyle.co.uk

Leading European manufacturer of aluminium window, door and façade systems, Hueck, has reported an increase in demand from the high-end market focused on superior weather tightness. The trend is highlighted by a number of recent projects supplied for by the company, incorporating the Hueck Volato M profile system for sliding and lifting-sliding windows and doors. As a project solution, Volato M can meet the same stringent specifications expected from curtain walls, in accordance with the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology’s standard for systemised building envelopes. Hueck’s Volato M door has successfully passed the 600 Pascals water penetration test pressure at 2001 to 2400 Pascals wind pressure, while installed in an aluminium façade. These standards, which correspond to the CWCT methodology, enable specifiers not to compromise on the performance of the building envelope when integrating a door system. Volato’s ability to achieve these excellent weather performances has seen it specified in a number of London residential and mixed-use developments. Giant facilities management and construction services provider, Carillion, was first to specify the high performance door system initially for Berkeley Homes’ £400m Battersea Power Station development, and, more recently, within the £80m Tidal Basin Road’s twin tower project. Crispin Jedrzejewski, technical director at Hueck, said: “Demand for high performance window and door systems has increased substantially over the past couple of years, driven by architects and developers looking to future-proof their projects. “Our comprehensive range of standard products, together with our project-specific solutions, and our bespoke design service, ensure Hueck’s capability to satisfy even the most stringent requirements.” The Volato M sliding system can accommodate double and triple glazed units from 22mm to 48mm, with glass loads of up to 400 kg. Developed to integrate with all other Hueck systems, the Volato M allows for a wide variety of design options, providing a highly versatile solution for any project. For more information visit www.hueck.com About Hueck: With over 200 years’ engineering experience, Hueck is one of the largest aluminium extruders for the window, door and façade industry in Europe. Specialising in both bespoke solutions, as well as standard systems, the company offers a wide choice of profiles, all of which are designed to integrate with each other. In addition to the Volato range, as well as the innovative Trigon façade systems, Hueck’s Lambda range alone consist of 13 different window systems, and 7 door systems.