The commission was for the design, manufacture and installation of a new gateway feature to welcome the public to the Bow Creek Ecology Park and to provide security at the park entrance. Once inside, the visitor follows the winding path past a watercourse and reed bed to the new outdoor Classroom, which was commissioned to provide a sheltered location for school ecology lessons. The Ecology Park is used by local schools and rangers from the Lee Valley Regional Park, as well as being open to the public at certain times of the year. In the future the park may be open for general public access 7 days a week.
The features are to be opened at an official opening ceremony to be held in September. Details to follow.
GATEWAY
The Gateway is fabricated from mild steel elements, powder coated in a copper coloured finish. The decorative detail panels are a mixture of coloured and embossed Rimex steel and architectural steel meshes. The Gateway references the nearby Lee River, the shapes of the reedmace in an abstracted form and echoes the colours and forms of other nearby architectural features such as the two river bridges, the new buildings on the Isle of Dogs and the Millenium Dome.
Pedestrian gateway
The Gateway, fencing and Pedestrian entrance
CLASSROOM
Located beneath a Docklands Light Rail bridge, the outdoor Classroom consists of an area of concrete terracing, topped with hardwood Garapa (FSC certified) seats, which is flanked by decorative screens on either side. The screens both frame the view and provide some protection from the wind and weather. The screens are decorated in a similar manner to the Gateway, with a combination of Rimex metal, architectural mesh as well as panels of clear polycarbonate and polycarbonate that has collaged images from the site applied to it. Above the classroom is a vibrant orange canopy by Tensarc Ltd. The back wall of the classroom is formed by a hand painted mural representing the River Lee and the flora and fauna of the Ecology Park. Shelves within the mural provide informal exhibition spaces for found objects, other items of discussion or temporary artworks made during Ecology classes.
closer view of the mural
The classroom as seen from the outside
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Left screen showing detail of collage artwork |
designs©Sadubin/Rosser 2005
Penny Sadubin & Jan Rosser • contact tel; 07751 772 461• penny@evering.org
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