The Flower Bowl

In July 2017 I was commissioned by Guy Topping, Managing Director of the multi award winning Barton Grange Garden Centre in Brock, Preston to design a large scale artwork to wrap around the external elevation rain-screen of a new mixed use Leisure Centre The Flower Bowl - a 4200 sq m single storey building with an undulating grass roof. I was initially contacted by Jenni Muston of Rockpanel whose exterior cladding boards were specified for the work. Jenni put me in touch with Guy. I had previously collaborated with Jenni and project Architects HLM, on a project for Sheffield Hallam University Collegiate Campus. The new ‘HEART OF THE CAMPUS’ building was completed in 2015. As an award winning Garden Centre, the client was obviously keen to promote its long association with plants, trees and especially with flowers. The artwork is a celebration of flowers, inspired not so much by botanical accuracy, rather the abstract illustrative, super graphic nature of flowers at large scale, exploding like fireworks in celebration across the elevations of the building. The local landscape and textile heritage of Preston also contributed to research and concept development carried out at the Harris Museum. The artwork was developed for production & manufacture in partnership with The Cutting Room in Huntingdon, with whom I collaborated on the Sheffield Hallam project. I am indebted to them for their commitment to the project. The boards are being installed on site by Aztec Industrial Roofing Ltd under the project main contractor Truman Design & Build. The installation & handling of the artwork boards on site has been & continues to be excellent. The project Architectural Consultants are WAJW . The Project was completed and opened to the public in August 2018.