Client: Newport City Council
Architects: Council Architects
Consultants: Urban Condition

A work for Newport that would announce the entrance of Pill and Commercial road, reflecting the commercial and ethnic diversity of the area and generally lifting the visual impact of the location.’
The brief asked for a ‘contemporary approach with a strong appearance.’
The work aims to make a misused and awkward void, into something that looks purposeful and marks the continuation down through Pill and Commercial Rd as ‘a place worthy of note, with a rich and colourful history.’
In exploring the site, the absence of the demolished house still hung heavily upon the space. I wanted to softened and reduce the massing and abruptness of the architectural gable ends, maintaining a strong external space, with the warmth of an internal space.

The motif of the ivy leaf pattern is a metaphor for growth, its image and design represents and alludes to a variety of design styles, from the edwardian period housing to eastern european folk traditions, henna hand painting and Islamic geometric artwork.
Patterned aluminium cladding redefines the awkward massing of the two smaller gable ends, with the pattern being picked up in the black concrete used to clad the video columns.
Video screens are controlled by wifi, the content a rolling programme of content loops developed with the local community and uploaded by myself remotely. The future of this content is the mainstay of the project, and is a work in progress with a local grassroots film initiative.