A new correspondent (do keep them coming, people!) writes to tell me of a little bit of regeneration light in all the gloom. It would seem that leading PPP developer Cathedral Group are bringing forward an £80m regeneration scheme in Clapham, working in partnership with United House and Lambeth Council, to provide Clapham with a new, highly sustainable leisure centre, a new, state-of-the-art library, a new GP surgery and some high-quality residential accommodation in the borough.
The scheme recently won "Best Housing Project" at the British Homes Awards (and don't let that put you off!) but best of all Cathedral has now commissioned a huge community inclusion project through its public art installation.
The development is on the site of the old Mary Seacole House on Clapham High Street (which has now been demolished) and a new 12-storey building, designed by Studio Egret West, is under construction. Art and design are central to the project: the library is based around a "Guggenheim-esque central spiral" (whatever that is! Am agog!) and, following in this vein of creativity and innovation, Cathedral has just selected "world-renowned artist" Andrew Logan, who has been a "key figure of the London art scene since the 1970s", to create two large-scale public works of art for the scheme.
The scheme recently won "Best Housing Project" at the British Homes Awards (and don't let that put you off!) but best of all Cathedral has now commissioned a huge community inclusion project through its public art installation.
The development is on the site of the old Mary Seacole House on Clapham High Street (which has now been demolished) and a new 12-storey building, designed by Studio Egret West, is under construction. Art and design are central to the project: the library is based around a "Guggenheim-esque central spiral" (whatever that is! Am agog!) and, following in this vein of creativity and innovation, Cathedral has just selected "world-renowned artist" Andrew Logan, who has been a "key figure of the London art scene since the 1970s", to create two large-scale public works of art for the scheme.
Mr Logan was chosen for his proposal to include Clapham's residents in the creative process (so that certainly ticks my box). His sculptures embody the spirit of creativity and regeneration that lies at the heart of the development.
The good residents of Clapham have been provided with collection boxes around the high street and have been asked to donate small mementoes of their lives; the articles have to fit into the palm of your hand and must be hard items such as coins, painted or hardwood, metal, ceramics, broken china, mirror, glass, jewellery, stones, spectacles, cutlery, buttons or keys (soft items won't do, as the fragments of life are to be embedded in the outer coating of the sculptures). These will then be pieced together in a huge montage of the people of Clapham, their lives and their hopes and aspirations.
Well! I would certainly would commend the approach. PPP is of course the only mechanism that will allow mixed-use schemes that provide community services to be brought forward right now and that is a sign of the times. But that doesn't mean that Cathedral shouldn't be congratulated for going the extra mile with its public art strategy (and having a public art strategy in the first place shows a certain sense of enlightenment, of course). And any piece of public art that promotes inclusiveness, and reflects a desire to create something together with local residents, that is truly representative of the community - its present and its past - will be a thing of ownership and endurance.
I don't know whether Mr Logan is expensive (these people do have to eat, of course, and public art is NEVER cheap) but Cathedral may find that this is the best investment they have ever made. I look forward to seeing the finished result.
The good residents of Clapham have been provided with collection boxes around the high street and have been asked to donate small mementoes of their lives; the articles have to fit into the palm of your hand and must be hard items such as coins, painted or hardwood, metal, ceramics, broken china, mirror, glass, jewellery, stones, spectacles, cutlery, buttons or keys (soft items won't do, as the fragments of life are to be embedded in the outer coating of the sculptures). These will then be pieced together in a huge montage of the people of Clapham, their lives and their hopes and aspirations.
Well! I would certainly would commend the approach. PPP is of course the only mechanism that will allow mixed-use schemes that provide community services to be brought forward right now and that is a sign of the times. But that doesn't mean that Cathedral shouldn't be congratulated for going the extra mile with its public art strategy (and having a public art strategy in the first place shows a certain sense of enlightenment, of course). And any piece of public art that promotes inclusiveness, and reflects a desire to create something together with local residents, that is truly representative of the community - its present and its past - will be a thing of ownership and endurance.
I don't know whether Mr Logan is expensive (these people do have to eat, of course, and public art is NEVER cheap) but Cathedral may find that this is the best investment they have ever made. I look forward to seeing the finished result.
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