Winning Design for Art Commission

We are absolutely thrilled to have won the commission by the charity Allegra’s Ambition and SPUD to deliver a new piece of public art, to be located outside the Winchester Sports Centre which opened in 2021.

The brief was to design a new sculpture as a place for people to gather and sit, adjacent to the playing fields at the new recreation centre. The piece needed to versatile, to be interesting visually, create a natural gathering point, but also to offer some form of seating, and to ideally incorporate the charity within the design, all within a budget of £50,000.

Our answer was the ‘Tactile Seating Structure’ crafted from hardwood timber fins. Each fin could be a different hardwood to offer a variation on tone, positioned at a slightly different angle to create an organic ripple, reflective of the ribbons within the charity logo. The shape of the wooden structure creates a welcoming enclosure for people to gather, encouraging people to sit or lounge within, or climb and crawl over the undulating surface. Conceived out of reclaimed natural timbers, sourced locally, to create a robust, warm and durable structure which can sustain the public interaction with minimal on-going maintenance. The structure will be integrated with landscaping and outdoor apparatus, offering everyone an opportunity to participate in physical activity and activating an underused public area outside of the leisure centre. Public consultation workshops will be carried out to ensure that the structure incorporates a wide variety of uses for all ages and abilities.

The Allegra’s Ambition charity aims to encourage and empower young and disadvantaged people to fulfil their potential through participation in sport, the charity was set up in memory of Allegra, a keen sports person who died suddenly at the age of 16. SPUD is an arts and education charity located in the New Forest, they aim to create opportunities for people to engage with art, architecture, design and the environment.

Prototype Build aka The Bishops Hat

As part of our Collaborative Process Exhibition we designed and build a 1:1 prototype structure, exploring the concept of flat pack, temporary architecture.

The design, affectionately nicknamed ‘The Bishop’s Hat’, was first sketched following a series of community engagement workshops we held at various churches in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight. Faced with the challenge of activating and heating old, large and often protected spaces like churches, the studio explored the idea of ‘a room within a room.’ By building a smaller temporary structure within a larger volume the community could continue to use the space while only needing to heat the smaller area. In the warmer months the structure could open out, split apart and be reconfigured to house different activities, once again utilising the larger volume within the church.

The design is demountable, modular and simplified into a ‘kit of parts’ requiring only an Allen key to fully assemble. It is made with a timber frame and OSB clad, built as corners that can come together or break apart, each ‘part’ can slot in and be re-configured upon the base. The 1:1 prototype build was intended as a proof of the concept, that the design can be constructed, utilised, deconstructed and re­configured in different places and forms. We were all happy that it worked successfully; after four days constructing all the parts, it only took 1 hour to take down and flat-pack!

The vision was to create a structure that can act as a temporary activator. By deploying the structure into an existing space in need of reimagining, it can gather its community in a safe and warm space to host activities and conversations and spark new ideas. With the next iteration we hope to explore its functionality further, with integrated upgrades such as insulation, electricity and cladding so this simple structure could take on many more forms.

We collaborated with Reading School of Architecture to involve two of their students, Dorina Boros and Anna Knight Gonzalez, to join in the building of the structure and to reimagine the design in different formations and locations across Southampton. The students’ designs were presented, along with the built structure, at our exhibition at God’s House Tower in Southampton.

Many thanks to the amazing build team, Peter Bolton, Robin Price, Kane Applegate and Laura Whitney. Also, thanks to Bentley SIP Systems who provided the materials and to God’s House Tower for letting us create a lot of sawdust in their amazing exhibition space!

We plan for the structure to evolve and take a journey with us to new projects and places. If you can imagine the Bishop’s Hat in one of your spaces, please reach out to our team!

 

‘Beyond The Streets’ opening

We were thrilled to be involved in the design work supporting the ‘Beyond the Streets’ exhibition, currently being on show at the Saachi Gallery in Chelsea, London. Over the last few months, it has been such an experience collaborating with the team at the Gallery and the Cadogan Estate, to find a way of bringing a taste of the exhibition out and into the public realm. Last week the Studio BAD team were invited to a private tour of the show, before it was opened to the public, which was such an honour to be able to see all the iconic work up close before the crowds were allowed in.

The ‘Beyond the Streets’ exhibition is the most comprehensive street art & graffiti exhibition to be held in the UK, the show celebrates the fusion between art, music and the fashion industries. The show has previously been successfully shown in New York and Los Angeles, featuring over 100 international artists showing new and iconic works, with each destination exploring the local artists that have roots within this scene, through to the important cultural figures influenced by their work.

The design installations proposed by Studio BAD aim to bring the theme, energy and vibrancy of the Beyond the Streets Exhibition, out of the gallery and into the public realm. Our proposal creates a curated walk up the Kings Road, through Duke of York Square and naturally onto the Saachi Gallery. The proposed public art includes high level banners, pop-up art galleries, a mural and a sculpture. These installations seek to offer a dynamic and lively offer to the public realm, an authentic move for this exhibition, where it had originated in the street.

The show runs until 9th May, tickets are available here.

Collaborative Process Exhibition

Last week we hosted our first exhibition, held at the awesome God’s House Tower in the heart of the old town of Southampton. The show was in part a celebration of Studio BAD’s 4th anniversary, and in part a commemoration of our collaborative process of working. The show looked at some of the key projects for our practice, past, present and future, that have been uniquely shaped by the way we work.

The show was a huge success, over the weekend we were honoured to welcomed over 300 people to the show. On the Saturday night we hosted a special drinks reception, a moment to stop, reflect and celebrate with our friends, colleagues and collaborators.

We worked with Reading University architectural students to create a centrepiece for the exhibition. We gave a design brief to design and build a prototype temporary ‘room within a room’ to sit within large internal spaces, as you often find within churches. The idea was to create a structure that can be used as a private space, to hold meetings, private contemplation or just to create a more comfortable, space smaller in scale.

The prototype device was built in-situ within God’s House Tower, creating a wonderfully warm room, which we have nicknamed the ‘Bishops Hat’ due to the overall space and detailing. Crafted from chip board with a Perspex window, laid out in a simple cross shape, the design offers a small scale room which is designed to fit comfortably within a church environment.

We would like to thank our sponsors of the event, University of Reading, Arts Committee, Eckersley O’Callaghan, Mesh Energy, Bentley SIPS Systems and Muse Coffee (who have defiantly fuelled this exhibition!) without all their support we could not have gone ahead with the event. We would also like to thank God’s House Tower; the team have been so helpful and the space is beautiful and so versatile.

Finally, we would like to thank the whole of the Studio BAD collaborative team, you can find the list of our team here, each and everyone has shaped the practice.  Studio BAD is a rich tapestry of all our skills, experience and heritage, the company has thrived from our collaborative approach and I could not be prouder of what we have all achieved together.

Parklets installed in Eastleigh

Last year we worked with Eastleigh Borough Council on a feasibility study of the town centre, the council were looking at ways to invigorate the space through permanent and semi-permanent interventions which have now started to be installed across the town.

One of our key design ideas was the installation of Parklet structures. These modular seating units are designed to soften the retail street, with planting and a place for people to stop and sit. The seating encourages people to dwell and engage with the surroundings, helping to positively support the local retail and restaurant outlets by creating vibrant social gathering points.

The modular units include tiered planting and bench seating, constructed from corten steel with a wooden bench seat. The design is inspired by Eastleigh’s industrial heritage as a train hub, with the modular units taking design cues railway design.

Professional photos will be taken soon, these are quick snaps on my phone – apologise for the quality!

First phase of Gosport complete

Phase One of our Gosport regeneration work has been completed, reimagining and activating the city centre through incremental and meanwhile design solutions. A key aspect of the plan was to install large scale art murals at key points across the town, to highlight and celebrate the heritage of Gosport and injecting bright, bold colours into the street scene.

One key area of town we looked to reactivate was the waterfront area, which hold such potential as a destination for Gosport. We selected a dated, uninspiring public convenience block to be the location for a new piece of public art, celebrating the maritime history. Working with a talented graphic designer, Nathan Evans, we created a unique graphic mural to wrap around the entire structure, visually lifting the dated building and injecting a sense of fun to the street scene. The artwork uses subtle, abstract graphics to commemorate the industrial maritime heritage, using bold blues and aquamarine tones inspired by the sea and air.

Already a local favourite, in a few well considered images this work brilliantly captures the story and rich maritime heritage of Gosport.’ Peter Fellows, Project Manager – Gosport High Street Heritage Action Zone.

Other work completed includes a large, abstract mural installed in the centre of the High Street, designed collaboratively with Amber Ryan coming up with the concept designs and Amanda Moore refining and delivering the project. The vivid design was inspired by the iconic ‘Dazzle’ camouflage used on navy ships during WWI and WWII, the designs consist of a complex patten of geometric shapes in contrasting colours, which have been reinterpreted and applied to a rundown, post war commercial block located at the cross section of the street, visually lifting the appearance of the structure at this main artery of town.

We look forward to seeing the additional aspects of the design come to completion onsite in following months.