Over a 7 year period, from 2007-14, I was involved as artist-in-residence for St Andrews, the redevelopment of a former hospital in east London into a high-density neighbourhood. Bromley-by-Bow sits in the heart of east London in a part of the city that is still home to an incredibly diverse mix of communities and where the need for new housing is acute. By the end of the project, the former St Andrew's Hospital had been redeveloped as a compact neighbourhood of more than 950 new homes with a mix of households from singles to larger families with many different types of units, half of the them classified affordable, and including a new NHS clinic. The project's contemporary brick language was seen as an early example of a distinctly 21st century housing vernacular specific to London.
From my original design in 2007 of a Community Herb Garden to be built towards the end of the project in 2013, I maintained a close connection the site with unique access to St Andrews Hospital when it was still standing. I photographically documented the demolition of the hospital, found objects in the rubble, and persuaded the developers to store 25,000 bricks reclaimed from the building as well as stone from the central tower. I worked closely with a number of architectural practices, the developers (Barratts), master planners (Allies & Morrison), landscape architects (Townshend) and local schools. I was privileged to work with master bricklayers, onsite technicians and external fabricators, using photographically printed ceramic tiles, enamel, photographic print, cast resin, stone, metal and brick.
-
-
-
-
Share