Mace has delivered a first: a four-storey upside down mixed-use building on a busy London thoroughfare.
The firm project managed artist Alex Chinneck’s Upside Down House at 20 Blackfriars Road, giving a disused building due for demolition a new facade design that celebrates its life and history.
Mace was responsible for risk assessment, scaffolding and licensing fees, and also sourced the materials free of charge via a number of sponsors.
The labour was supplied by contractors on Mace’s ongoing £135m British Museum extension, working on a pro bono basis. These included including scaffolder Benchmark, masonry firm Lyons & Annoot and general contractor Dhesi Group.
Mace’s project director Willie Shaw, who is also in charge of the £135m World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre at the British Museum, said: “The artist has been quite involved in the project and Mace has been working closely with him to make sure that his vision can come to life, which can sometimes mean compromising on certain elements where construction and vision clash.
“A lot of materials have been salvaged from old buildings and reused. This helps make the overall effect more realistic.”
Shaw was assisted by construction manager Joe Green, also working on the British Museum project, who produced all the relevant drawings.
Artist Alex Chinneck often finds new applications for construction materials
London-based artist Alex Chinneck takes his inspiration from the landscapes of London’s industrial peripheries. His work often finds new applications for everyday construction materials, giving unrefined construction materials a second life and enlivening them with new purpose and appearance.
The building has had several incarnations since it was built in 1780. It was originally used as livery stables, housing horses and carriages for hire, with the access through the site also used to ferry live cattle and goods from the courtyard to trade along the Thames.
The building then changed to residential use, while in 1880 the ground floor shop was a pawnbroker. The passageway to the side was used to gain access to the well-known Tress and Co hat factory to the rear, now marked by the Mad Hatter Hotel.
The public art project is part of the wider Merge 2013 festival created by Better Bankside and Illuminate Productions. The festival is supported by Tate Modern, Arts Council England, Ibstock, Fischer and Mace.
