Member Article

Sheffield's rivers provide inspiration for iconic city centre art

The hidden rivers of Sheffield are providing the inspiration for an iconic piece of art outside the St Paul’s Place development in the city centre.

Loughborough-based Richard Perry, who created the sculptures in the city’s Peace Gardens and who specialises in public realm art, was commissioned by CTP Ltd and U+1, the developers of the pioneering St Paul’s Place.

David Topham, the managing director of CTP, commented: “Richard is adding some sculpture to the sandstone wall, flanking the base of the office building by the Charles Street steps and Arundel Gate. I think he is doing a wonderful job, complementing the distinctive character of St Paul’s Place and helping to signpost it as one of the city’s great new buildings”.

Meanwhile Lynda Mather of project managers Prosurv explained: “The original brief to Richard was to consider the history of the site – the iron ore and coal workings and he developed this into thinking more about the flow of water, natural geology seams and so on.

“It’s fascinating seeing how Richard is creating the carving in the stone wall – going from drawing pencil lines on the stone, then using a small electric hand-saw to carve the circular shapes and then some sanding-down by hand. Richard has only been on site for a few weeks, and is due to be here for a further 8-10 weeks,” said Lynda.

Richard Perry commented: “The idea is inspired by the “hidden rivers” of Sheffield, creating a form with a fluid flow emulating the passage of pedestrians coming down the stairs from St Paul’s Place. I have taken flow, weir, strata, journey and movement as themes, and has created a point of focus to the corner of the building with an “eddy”.

“The gradient and the physical properties of the site are taken into account by echoing the large stepped elements in front of the wall with allusion to weirs. The focal point at the corner of the main elevation is inspired by a sense of travel around one elevation to the next, alluding to the way water courses form eddies when flowing against an edge or bank and when changing direction abruptly.

“The artwork has a subtle harmony and an integral feel, a sense that the carved relief is emanating from the wall. This is in part achieved by the carving petering out top and bottom and by the subtle grading of relief depths, becoming seen and unseen. Carving through the joints gives a further sense of integration and gives a mysterious feel of the work emerging from the wall.

“I was part of the collaborative design team for the regeneration of The Peace Gardens. I designed the stonework and led a team of carvers, spending some time hand carving on site in Sheffield. I also made the bronze sculpture of Thomas Boulsover in Tudor Square,” he explained.

He added: “I like the building I am working on, I like its elegance and the way the three St Paul’s Place buildings are massed.”

3 St Paul’s Place is the first office building in Sheffield to be speculatively developed since the recession.

The 10-storey, state-of-the-art office development, which comprises 78,000 sq. ft. of prime Grade A office space with each 8,000 sq. ft. floor offering offices suites from 2,000 sq. ft, is now ready for immediate occupation. Headline rents are £23.50 per sq for a full floor.

The construction of 3 St Paul’s Place, which is rated as BREEAM excellent, went ahead following a landmark agreement between developers CTP and U+I (formerly Development Securities) with Sheffield City Council and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

David Topham commented: “These are now exciting times for St Paul’s Place, which is an established high-quality office location in the heart of Sheffield. The building marks the revival of confidence in Sheffield city centre, and Arup, our first occupiers, are moving in next month.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .