Abstract

No longer is architectural art glass confined to the ecclesiastical and the domestic. Architectural glass has come of age, confirming it as a truly versatile material with many applications in the urban environment. Innovative areas of development are happening particularly within the field of public art sculpture and public seating.
Cate Watkinson designs with glass and light together in street furniture and proposes to elaborate on a project she has recently completed involving illuminated public art seating powered by energy gathered from photovoltaic cells incorporated into the seat design.
Seating like this is innovative and exciting offering new formats/menus for the cityscape and a dramatic breakthrough fulfilling city/regional agendas on many fronts, e.g. economic, town planning, social wellbeing and tourism and can be made with sustainable lighting technology and in a material such as recycled or laminated glass.
This presentation will offer an overview of innovations in public art glass in the UK presenting case studies of the use of new technologies. It will describe the making of large scale public art sculpture, through some of Cate’s previous commissions. It will describe the highs and lows of working with new technologies and show just what can be achieved with good design and determination.