Central Bedfordshire Council commissioned Tom Pearman to develop a major integrated public artwork for the new council offices and community hall in Stotfold, Bedfordshire.
Tom designed and managed the development of a continuous system of vitreous enamel cladding and applied glazing graphics extending across three elevations of the building. Spanning approximately 60 metres, the artwork moves between solid wall surfaces and transparent glazing, allowing the imagery to become part of the architecture rather than a separate addition to it.
Clouds and steam
The principal visual motif is a sequence of clouds and drifting steam that travels across the exterior cladding and windows.
The imagery references Stotfold’s agricultural and industrial heritage, while also suggesting something temporary and continually changing. Clouds, steam, memories and stories overlap across the building, creating a visual connection between the physical history of the town and the experiences of the people who live there.
The transparent glazing introduces an additional layer to the work. Real sky, landscape and changing daylight become visible through the printed imagery, so the appearance of the artwork continually changes according to viewpoint, weather and time of day.
Typewriter Art
A major element of the project developed from Tom’s interest in typewriter art — the use of letters, numbers and punctuation to construct images and patterns.
Rather than introducing text as conventional blocks of writing, words and characters are repeated, rotated and arranged to form parts of the clouds, steam and other graphic elements.
This approach allowed personal memories, phrases and local stories gathered during the project to become embedded directly within the imagery. At a distance the marks form part of the overall composition; at closer range, individual words and fragments of text become visible.
Community stories
The artwork was developed through a collaborative programme involving six local community groups, schools and members of the public.
Tom devised a series of typewriter-art workshops in which participants explored the possibilities of creating imagery using text, letters and symbols. The workshops also provided a way of gathering stories, memories and observations connected with Stotfold.
Material generated through these sessions was incorporated into the final artwork, allowing individual contributions to become part of the permanent architectural design.
ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME →
Anaglyph imagery
Sections of the artwork also experiment with anaglyph imagery, a method of creating a stereoscopic three-dimensional effect by separating elements of an image into different colour channels, traditionally viewed through red and cyan glasses.
The use of anaglyph techniques introduces another form of visual layering, extending the project’s exploration of perception, transparency and the relationship between flat graphic imagery and architectural space.
Architecture and light
The artwork was conceived to operate differently from inside and outside the building.
On the exterior, the vitreous enamel panels create a strong continuous graphic presence across the elevations. On the glazing, the imagery remains transparent, allowing views of the sky and surroundings to merge with the printed clouds and text.
Internally, sunlight passing through the windows projects parts of the design into the building, creating changing shadows and reflections across walls and floors.
Project documentation
A dedicated project website was created to document the development of the commission and the accompanying community collaboration in greater detail:
www.tompearman.co.uk/stotfold-arts/
