As part of the CLOUD CLADDING AND GLAZING commission for Stotfold Council Offices and Community Hall, Tom Pearman developed a collaborative engagement programme involving six local community groups, schools and members of the public.
The workshops explored typewriter art as a way of turning words, letters, numbers and punctuation into visual imagery, while also gathering memories, stories and observations connected with Stotfold.
Typewriter Art
Tom used typewriter art as a starting point for introducing text into the wider architectural artwork.
Participants experimented with repeating, rotating and arranging letters and symbols to create images, patterns and textures. This allowed written language to operate both as something that could be read and as a graphic material in its own right.
The approach became an important part of the visual language of the permanent artwork, where fragments of text and repeated characters form sections of the clouds, steam and other imagery.
Community stories
The workshops provided an opportunity for participants to contribute memories, stories and local references connected with Stotfold.
Material generated through the engagement programme informed the development of the final artwork, allowing community contributions to become embedded within the permanent vitreous enamel cladding and glazing.
The imagery of clouds and steam references Stotfold’s agricultural and industrial heritage, while the use of local text introduces more personal and transient layers of memory and storytelling.
From workshop to artwork
The resulting architectural artwork extends across approximately 60 metres and three elevations of the new council offices and community hall.
Community-generated text is incorporated into the wider visual composition, connecting the collaborative process directly with the completed public artwork.
Project archive
A dedicated project website documents the development of the commission and the community collaboration in greater detail:
