A Public Resource for West Croydon

Abstract

The work was an invitation to make a wall painting on flank wall of a high street revealed during East Architects’ masterplanning of West Croydon transport hub. Our proposal was: This wall in the public realm has the potential to sign local resources and knowledge, ideally free things that are available in the borough, or point to unexpected destinations. We will find local organisations, resources and spaces that could benefit from some unsolicited attention and produce adverts for them. Each sign would be designed specifically in one or two colours and produced as vitreous enamel signs with an etched panel of captions giving further information. The signs are all unsolicited, imposed is the wrong word, but we were keen to not seek approval or be interpreted as a ‘service’. The limitations of the project were the borough itself and the budget for producing the enamel tiles. The research method was to meet local interest groups, go to annual meetings, council offices, bat walks, fungus farms, apple pressing days, etc. and to visit the enamel factory to better understand the process of printing on metal. The outcome is a permanent installation of fourteen enamel signs and an etched steel key to those signs. The audience are visitors to Croydon as well as residents and the recipients of signs