I can't believe that another of my favourite buildings in Leeds is being destroyed! (along with the international swimming pool). The H-blocks at Leeds Metropolitan University are about to meet their maker. Surely these functional concrete structures with a proper internal refit and new metal or wooden windows could stay, maintaining their honest geometric simplicity and no nonsense chic that has graced the student zone in the city for the last 40 or so years. This would also be far more eco friendly than wasting energy demolishing them and building some mediocre quasi-contemporary architecture in its place which will also meet the demolition squad in another 30 years. It would be nice to see more of this concrete architecture receiving the same holistic approach and regeneration that the industrial brick buildings of the 18th and 19th century have in recent years. The H-block buildings are currently used as the art department and convey a gritty urban edge that art needs, also referencing back to the days when Leeds was awash with political activism and the Leeds Metropolitan (then polytechnic) led the way for cutting edge performance art. At least Leeds University is still keeping some of its fantastic 60's and 70's gems (because it is so Sci-Fi it is rumoured to have been used to film episodes of Blake Seven).

Trompe L’oeil marble tiles 

Section of a repeat pattern for the parlour curtains. The hexagonal shaped object in the print is the parlour desk that Bryan and I made - a mix of Ettore Sottsass and folk furniture. I have taken up the Sottsass/'Memphis' style in the curtain designs as there is plenty of tradition at Parkamoor. 

The Romanian Ambassador his Excellency Ion Jinga has visited Leeds and our sculpture Hello Friends at Bridgewater Place with the Council's International Relations department. Unfortunately we were not invited, it would have been great to meet him and talk about the influence of the 'Endless Column' by Brancusi on the work and the conversations we have had with the Brancusi Foundation in Romania and various experts here in the UK.

Whether he liked the work or not is not clear, however he has asked (insisted!) that we put a plaque on it detailing the Brancusi and Romanian link. This sounds like a great idea to us as the Endless Column is one of the main raison d'etre's of our sculpture. We thought the link came across clearly enough in the actual form of the artwork, without requiring a brass enscribed note (even one of the cleaners recognised the reference!). When I get a bit of time I would like to notify the Ambassador of the many other Brancusi homages out there. He may wish to get in contact with the artists/collectors who own them and suggest similar action. Here are a few to get started on: 

Image captions:

'Endless Column' by Tal Streeter

'Kusine' by Nicole Wermers

unknown source

'Endless Gnome' by Christopher L. Williams

'Coluna sem fim' by Franz Weissman 

'Sculpture silhouette prop' by Peter Coffin

'Endless Column' in second life

Now on at Wakefield Art Gallery - No, not that 'Grand Designs'. This is an exhibition showing works from the Arts Council Collection by Henry Moore, Victor Pasmore, Anya Gallaccio, Kenneth and Mary Martin and others, including our model for 'Hello Friends'. Grand Designs - 9  February - 13 April.

For one week now we have been living in a Hymer motorhome driving around the north of England. This is our new home and studio for the next month for the Wonderful North web project. Yes, we know it's January and today there's snow on the ground, but we're enjoying the off-season campsites and rapidly changing scenery. The purpose of the road trip is research out of which we will make new commissioned work for the website based on 28 days in the North. We're writing a daily blog on the Wonderful North site so please look for us there.

Highlights so far: interviewing Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane at the launch of the Greasy Pole, Egremont; the seaside, Bridlington's empty amusement arcades and the Harbour Bar in Scarborough. Getting electric hook up to charge the batteries...

We launched the sculpture 'Hello Friends' last night in the atrium of Bridgewater Place. To mark the occasion we invited musicians from London based Nozfuratu to play a concert. It was it has to be said, freezing in the covered street, possibly the coldest night of the year so far, but the musicians played on and the music was great. We particularly enjoyed the edgy modernist inspired music accompanying the glass elevators rising and falling with late working lawyers in conjunction with the flashing repetitive lights of the sculpture.

We managed to get some coverage of the opening on TV and radio (see Look North news excerpt). It was going to be broadcast live, only there was a break out of a fatal disease in the drinking water in North Yorkshire which unfortunately took our slot. It was good to have a live event and a chance to see some of our friends/ colleagues, alongside those that had worked on the sculpture.

The catalogue of Hello Friends has arrived. The publication contains photos of the installation at Bridgewater Place, colour details of the 9 sculpture images, and photographs of us making the work. It also includes two essays by Dr Jon Wood (Henry Moore Institute) the first is about Hello Friends, the second text is a fictional story set around Brancusi's 'Endless Column'.

Hello Friends catalogue, ISBN 978-0-9551875-2-0 is priced £10, (+£2.50 UK p&p). To order a copy please email info@bryanandlauradavies.com

Adam Sutherland of Grizedale Arts invited us to present alongside him at the Art and Architecture Journal conference at Yorkshire Sculpture Park last Friday organised by Jeremy Hunt. My small part was more akin to a speed date, with far too little time and a tired audience at the end of a long day. However there were three good ideas relevant to our approach that became clearer to me thanks to the conference and its organisers.

First up the idea of content led design was expanded by Charles Jenks looking at his own landscape design and some quite strange/ possibly aesthetically dubious designs. However his way of doing this made the ideas beneath the surface of a garden more apparent to me as a viewer, and helped me mentally deconstruct landscape. Good idea! Although his ‘Iraq war garden’ was not necessarily also one. Jenks is a super sharp heavy weight though and understands critical art practice, and it also led to more clarity for me regarding idea number 2 - bad design can make good art.

Adam did a good job on Grizedale, (though again not enough time) - 'a sculpture park on the move', moving at some speed by the looks of things away from the ground occupied by the other parks. It was refreshing to hear him declare that they had an office in an off-the-shelf agricultural building after 2 hours of architects giving very detailed deliberations on the Cass foundation buildings etc..

To complete a trio of design/art ideas, I also felt clearer about art process that leads to a design outcome. The Parkamoor project seems to fit ok with this, as a process of performance, photography and exhibition making that ends in a piece of interior design. Next up might be to see where these three ideas take Laura and I as we work on the Northern Way's virtual public art commission.

4 days at Low Parkamoor, Dan and Bryan have finally installed the floor and finished plastering, made a new door and are choosing paint colours. The end is possibly in sight. 

Now on Flickr are photo albums of the making of the sculpture at Bridgewater Place, click to see development in the studio and installation on site.