Make Way is a sculpture and public realm transformation commissioned in 2019 during my time at New Practice. Sustrans, in collaboration with the New Gorbals Housing Association, commissioned the work to celebrate the opening of the South City Way cycle route, connecting users from the South of Glasgow to the City Centre. We worked closely with local schools to develop the design, fostering a sense of ownership and pride in the sculpture within the community.
Design
The design of this sculpture is all about interacting with users as they pass by on the new cycle route and public transport. For this reason, we wanted the bright sculpture to be composed of individual objects that align at one specific point in passing to reveal a shape. Our community engagement workshops with local primary school children inspired the patterns and colours of the final sculpture. The public realm transformation includes the installation of three new bicycle stands placed on a recycled glass orange substrate that claims the structure as part of the sculpture.
Community
Make Way was designed with the help of local primary school groups who participated in workshops and collaborated with us to experiment with shape and colour. The younger children in their community were extremely excited about having a new sculpture in the New Gorbals and we invited a number of them to come to the opening of the sculpture which they helped design.
Construction
As joint lead designer on the project, I was involved in every stage, from concept development to producing drawings for manufacturing and managing the build on site. We collaborated with Scott Associates (Sculpture and Design) on the manufacturing process and installation of the steel structures, including the orange bicycle racks.
Each individual standing component of the structure was designed to maximise the use of a standard steel sheet, ensuring minimal waste material during construction.
