Bonnie Craig, is Pattern Artist and Designer who is an Alumni of UCLan with a Masters in Textile design.
Bonnie worked in close collaboration with the architect and the project team to create glass manifestation graphics for the internal glazed screens – from meeting rooms throughout, to the external glazing surrounding the upper ground floor careers area, and the first floor student support area enclosing the lightwell.
These areas of glazing have many functions such as safety and privacy requirements and so the design needs a variety of density and opacity of graphics to fulfill their function.
The concept references Preston’s textile history and UCLan’s textile education and builds on the existing use of ‘threads’ in the building design. It comprises linear contemporary designs based on the positions of the woven threads in different types of cloth, using these lines to form abstract compositions on the glass that play with the regularity and irregularity of the different lines, creating movement, rhythm and visual interest.
The lines in these designs represent many concepts relating to the student journey and the university as a place of learning, development and experiences:
journey: path, exploration, progress, direction
thread: commonality, links, binding
time: occasions, markers, past, future
movement: freedom, openness, flexibility
structure: grids, regularity, predictability, measurable
irregularity: flexibility, individuality, meandering, wandering, discovery.
The artist developed the project by carrying out research at UCLan Archive , Harris Museum and Lancashire Archives. Examining Harris Institute prospectuses from 1893 – 1915 and textile books and syllabuses from the that period which contained details of cotton spinning and weaving and design courses as well as mechanical aspects of those activities.
The final contemporary pieces give a playful uplight to the building and can be seen on over 30 separate glass screens throughout the building.
In Certain Places
VB005A, Victoria Building
University of Central Lancashire
Preston, PR1 2HE
info@incertainplaces.org
