A MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL MAINE ROAD PUBLIC ART PROGRAMME COMMISSION - To celebrate the former centre spot of the maine road stadium
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A MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL MAINE ROAD PUBLIC ART PROGRAMME COMMISSION To celebrate the former centre spot of the maine road stadium public art proposal by artist stephen broadbent
PUBLIC ART “to make a sensory impression that enriches
mental association and memory”
“To establish a cultural context, make connections and then craft metaphors
that the community confirm are part of the experience of the place”
1. Background
The aspirations for the commission are to:
Create an inspirational, high quality, site-specific public artwork,
integrated within a high quality public realm.
Develop a coherent design theme, which establishes visual links with
other elements of the regeneration scheme (public spaces and public
buildings), enhancing pedestrian routes through the site.
Ensure that the design concept is developed in collaboration with
the project team and that it is based on a genuine and meaningful
engagement with project stakeholders.
We are pleased to be appointed by Manchester City Council to create Guarantee an inclusive design process, which reveals and celebrates
a site-specific public artwork for a development site that was formerly local character.
Maine Road Stadium, the ground of Manchester City Football Club,
1923-2004. Deliver a community engagement process which helps to identify and
build a ‘Sense of Place’, leading the creation of a favourite meeting
The site borders the wards of Moss Side and Rusholme in Central place and community hub.
Manchester. Since the club’s relocation to the City of Manchester
Stadium in 2004 the Maine Road site has become subject to a major Develop from a design concept, which is sophisticated, poetic and
housing regeneration programme. intriguing, focused around a central artwork, which reveals itself in
stages.
The Maine Road development is being delivered by a partnership that
includes Lowry Homes, local residents, Manchester City Council and Generate an artwork, which is thought provoking and captures
other stakeholders and is managed by a project board, overseen by the people’s imagination to inspire positive interaction and dialogue.
Maine Road Steering Group.
Create an enduring icon, something loved locally and with regional
The Maine Road Public Art Working Group has been leading on the and national significance.
development of an arts programme with the local community, exploring
creative ways to celebrate local history, talent and diversity. The Centre
Spot commission has been a key element of their programme Principle themes for design concepts will be:
The detailed design is being undertaken in conjunction with Manchester • The history and special significance of the site.
City Council, Lowry Homes, Mosscare Housing Association and Leech • The use of the site as a potential performance space and public
Rhodes Walker Architects. meeting space.
• Pedestrian routes and axis points through the development.
The design brief called for a site-specific design concept, which • Potential for interactive artwork and thought provoking content.
includes a central artwork and associated design features, which • Potential creation of an Urban Myth.
could be integrated throughout the wider public realm, including hard
landscaping and street furniture.
2. Theme
There are many stories or themes that could and should be told or The social commentator, Alexander more than 500. Scuttling reached a engage the working youths in more
celebrated within the Maine Road community, but the story I chose to Devine, attributed the gang culture peak in 1890–91, and it was said peaceful activities, the spread of
focus on is the very reason the Centre Spot has been retained, and that to: lack of parental control, lack that by 1890 more youths were held street football and the advent of the
is the football story. of discipline in schools, “base in Strangeways Prison for scuttling cinema.
literature” and the monotony of than for any other offence. One initiative to provide an
The community finds themselves the custodians of a place of national life in Manchester’s slums. Some By the turn of the century the gangs alternative to gang warfare resulted
and international significance, a place where for 80 years so much was of the clashes between rival gangs had all but died out due to the in the formation of St. Marks (West
invested; Emotion, Passion, Hopes & Dreams, Memories, Emotion & involved large numbers; t people he clearing of some of the worst slums, Gorton) FC, which later became
Remembrance. Gorton Reporter described one such the setting up of Working Lads’ Manchester City FC.
instance in May 1879 as involving Clubs (such as Salford Lads Club) to
The football story draws in a wide cultural context, including the
motivation for the club being established by a Rectors daughter Anna
Connell in 1880. The club being formed with the aim of binding
the local community and to combat a form of gang warfare called
‘scuttling’ that existed during the 1870s
“when you get into the ground and you see those sky blue shirts
against the backdrop of the manicured grass, it still stirs your soul.”
3. Design Approach Simply the retaining of the centre spot in its exact location holds considerable conceptual strength, presenting an immediate resonance, particularly for those with a connection with the club. The housing and public realm spaces have been sympathetically ar- ranged around the retained centre circle, but the residential scale and feel needs to be considered in terms of the design. It was felt that a low impact design would be more appropriate. The design approach is to simply elevate the 12m diameter circle of grass by 550mm and shift it revealing an arc of blue ceramic. The grass is contained by a substantial granite edge revealing inlayed text, col- lected through a community process. The feel of opening up or revealing something hidden, references visually a history, strengthened by the simple abstract pattern of blue ceramic, set flush to the paving. The granite edge, which serves as a continuous seat also conceals LED recessed lighting strips. The seat also presents an opportunity for the visitor to sit and listen, through their own PDA device, to a web-based ʻSoundscapeʼ via a Wi- Fi connection. The football reference is very subtle, with the inlayed text, which could be a lyric or poem drawing upon the wider cultural influences around football in Manchester. The ultimate success of any public art will be its ability to endure beyond those that participated in its making. It is also about creating a place that can be actively used by the community particularly the school. The artwork needs also to be robust and honest in its philosophy, speaking of universal themes expressed in the spirit of the locality, and particularly robust in the way it is made.
‘Quality landscape design, with well-crafted urban elements, and integrated artworks that make a genuine connection to place and people, will add tangibly to the quality of life, wellbeing and the environment around the Centre Spot ’
4. Materiality
This urban setting requires a
robust pallet of materials, and
the theme and context needs
to be seen as high quality,
which we hope will influence
the quality of the surrounding
streetscape.
A. Granite B. Turf
We have selected granite due to its durability, it’s ability to include The turf is fundamental to the design, and it’s visual quality and feel
typography, along with its relative low maintenance. We are proposing needs to reflect the quality of a football pitch. High quality turf will
that the typography is water-jet cut and set flush into a contrasting be laid within the granite wall and advice will be sought regarding
coloured granite. the make-up of the soil and drainage. A maintenance regime will
be established to ensure it retains its quality. There is an ambition to
Substantial granite blocks, cut to the radius of the Centre Spot, will be illuminate the circle of turf at, night simulating the floodlit effect of the
fixed into a concrete foundation and grouted together football pitch.
The process of water-jet cutting granite is robust; 20mm thick contrasting
granite will be fixed into the main body of granite, the whole surface
will then be polished smooth. There will be no opportunities to ‘pick
out’ the text.
C. Ceramic D. Feature Lighting
The low voltage LED light points, 500watts for the
The final material is glazed ceramic, which will be retained within Lighting will add considerably to the quality of whole feature, will be tamper-proof, set within a
an arc of granite setts, flush to the floor. the artwork and it’s setting, to have the Centre rebate in the granite, and will have a very low
Spot feature grass illuminated by contemporary annual energy consumption, it is likely the timing
The ceramic will add colour and a blue glaze will be fired within the floodlights, which will conjure in people’s minds the of these lights will synchronise with the surrounding
abstract texture of each of the tiles, creating a mosaic pattern and drama of that first glimpse of the illuminated Maine street lighting.
texture across the whole of the revealed blue moon shape. Road pitch.
Both lighting designs will bear a cost to the project.
The ceramic is approximately 15mm thick and is fitted onto a bed of We envisage attaching one 150watt floodlight onto There is a yearly electrical usage charge, which
grout. We would highly recommend that the ceramic company lay the two lighting columns adjacent to the Centre whilst fairly minimal, will need to be borne by
the ceramic on site. Spot. The timing of the illumination will need to be someone. We would envisage a cost of less than
agreed with the households surrounding the Centre £200 per year to run depending on the price per
Spot, a separate timer-clock can be installed within kwh from the supplier.
the column.
The recessed LED lighting fitted to the underside
of the granite, will illuminate the floorscape
surrounding the Centre Spot including the crescent
of blue ceramic.
5. Community Engagement
a. Searching for a Text Process Options
The granite edge will contain I. Target a Writer, Poet or Lyricist
a water-jet cut inlayed text,
a poem, a memory, a voice, This involves a little more sensitivity, as many more established
enabling the community to practitioners would not respond to a general call for an expression
articulate their relationship to of Interest. It would involve writing a confidential shortlist, agreed
the Maine Road area and its by the stakeholders, and approaching the individuals one at a time.
history. Names that come to mind are Noel Gallagher, Carol Ann Duffy (poet
laureate) or Lemn Sissay, who has completed text based - public art in
There are a number of ways Manchester. This would be similar to Roger McGough’s inlayed poem
to engage with a writer, poet, in Liverpool’s Williamson Square.
songwriter or storyteller and for
them to actively collaborate with
the community to collect stories, II. Launch an Expression of Interest
imagine possibilities and express
hopes and fears. This could be launched in partnership with the Manchester Literature
festival, the brief distributed through their web-site and data-base. It
Gearing the community would target Manchester based writers and poets, and can include a
engagement process towards requirement for community engagement. A model for this approach can
established local youth groups be seen at http://manchesterliterature.blogspot.com
aged 16+ would not only help
with ensuring ownership of the
‘Centre Spot’ within this group, III. Launch an Open Web-based Competition
but hopefully from working with
professional wordsmith’s pass on This would require setting up a Centre Spot web-site, and advertising
key literacy skills. through the media, football blog sites and possibly schools and
colleges, for poems and supporting stories and anecdotes related
We would propose the following to the history of the site. These could all be published online and a
processes, but would welcome process established to vote for the favourite, which would be translated
input and advice from the Maine into stone. We could establish the website and launch the event, and it
Road Public Art Steering Group. could possibly link with national poetry week in October.
The search for the text for the Centre Spot could just be the starting
point of a process of gathering narratives, which could be published
on a Centre Spot / Maine Road web-site, or integrated in other granite
elements in the adjacent streetscape.b. Soundscape Project c. Centre Spot – Web Site
It is hard now to imagine the The Maine Place development already has a strong sense of
level of noise created by the community, which has been encouraged through the numerous arts
passion of the crowd, as the projects that have taken place.
streets that were once filled
with sound have now fallen There is an aspiration to create a community website, that serves as a
silent. The ‘Soundscape’ project hub for all community information and cultural activity. This web-hub
presents an opportunity to could also serve the wider arts activities, including the Centre Spot
collect these sounds, and to project.
create a web archive of them.
The Centre Spot Web-Hub would -
These ‘sounds’ could be • Draw together all the stakeholders in the community, schools,
collected by creating links with housing, places of worship, local businesses etc.
local radio and TV stations, • Act as a single access point for community information
Manchester City Football Club • An active community notice board
• Support cultural activity
and local football fan clubs.
One of the spokes of the web-hub could be Centre Spot Archive, which
There are also many personal stories that can be collected would:
through this process, stories of fathers and sons, stories • Organise the soundscape project
from local residents, stories from staff and volunteers of the • Publish the collection of poems or lyrics for the centre spot
stadium. inscription and record peoples memories.
These sounds and audio stories, possibly supported with Requirements
photographs, can then be archived onto a Centre Spot /
Maine Road website, and listened to on a personal PDA • A remote WI-FI hub can be housed and powered within a feeder
device while sitting on the centre spot granite edge, via a pillar, near the Centre Spot lighting column.
free Wi-Fi connection. • Phone lines are not necessary for the hub.
• A website will need to be designed to accomodate a multi-media
archive, and also allows people to upload their reminiscences,
“Born 1968 - named after Mr Summerbee Dad started taking me to images etc, this could be linked to other existing sites.
• It would need to be hosted, managed, moderated and maintained
Maine Road late 70s, Book was manager, Bell was in the team by a committed local group ie; Schools, Maine Place Estates
Management Team or Manchester City’s community web-site.
My old man never stopped talking about that team • A fund would need to be set up to pay for the monthly WI-FI
connection fee and to manage the website, and domain name.
Thanks dad for teaching me. Now my turn to tell the stories to my son”7. Maine Place - Associated Design Features
The design brief called for a site-specific design concept, which
included a central artwork and associated design features, which Bollards Railings Seating
could be integrated throughout the wider public realm, including hard These would be granite block There is a need for protective The plaza and boulevard areas
landscaping and street furniture. forms, either with an angled top barriers and railings at certain would benefit from seating,
face, or a flat top that can act areas of the development, though this needs to be agreed
There is an opportunity to integrate the centre spot concept into hard as an informal seat, the inlayed particularly at the pedestrian following consultation with
landscape areas around the artwork feature; possibly in pedestrian element could run through the entrance of the Divine Mercy residents and the school.
routes radiating out from the Centre Spot at a 90 degree angle in two bollard and even extend at an primary school.
or three directions; in pedestrian routes connecting through to Thornton acute angle along the pavement, The same approach of using
Road, Carlton Ave and possibly Yew Tree Road. like a shadow cast over the The posts and ironwork of the granite up-stands supporting
bollard. railings could also have a quality timber seats, or full granite seats
The other key site being the pedestrian boulevard running between that reflects the main feature, the could be used to create high
new housing and connecting to Bluemoon Way and the Divine Mercy posts could be formed in granite quality seats.
School. Gateway Totems and the ironwork formed in a
The main pedestrian routes into decorative way that mirrors the There are existing details in
The elements need to be simple and robust, and a simple extension of the Maine Road Development text and inlays within the other the Boulevard that could be
the concept and materiality, using text, illustration or symbols inlayed could be marked with a granite features. replaced with inlayed granite
into granite. totem, these could have an blocks, which could serve also
inlayed element set within We have experience in creating as seating element.
The theme of the text can be developed through the proposed Centre them, or have a granite design decorative railings some of
Spot website and relate to a wide range of cultural influences in the directly carved in the stone. The which are illustrated in this
community. height of the totem could be document.
extended with timber, similar
These elements have not been fully designed or exact locations to the work we completed in
identified, but it in principle, the design feel would be familial to the Cathedral Gardens Manchester. Floor Inlays
main feature, using robust granite blocks with inlays taking the form They could also accommodate There is an opportunity to
of text, symbol or objects. The inlays could be water-jet cut granite or lighting, either floor up-lighters, inlay images or text flush into
bronze, glass or ceramic. The design detail would take into account the or inlayed in the upper section the paving, we would inlay
need for a robust solution. of the totem casting light down a granite paving unit that
its length. accommodates the design, these
The associated features include:- could be circular in form and
added through core-drilling the
existing pavement.
The floor-inlays could be
arranged around, or connected
to the other vertical elements,
or serve as a way-finding device
through the public realm spacesYou can also read
