19/20.NBNW.2009
N by NW is a screen print referencing the use of tiles that extend from the inside to the outside of Preston Bus Station. The piece was developed as part of an ongoing study of concrete car parks in the UK.
Preston Bus Station, built in 1969 and designed by Keith Ingham of Building Design Partnership (BDP), is representative of a time when advances in the technology of reinforced concrete together with a rapidly expanding traffic infrastructure brought architectural innovation on a grand scale. Concrete allowed the architect greater freedom to explore new sculptural forms. Never before had any other material allowed such dramatic use of space. At the time of construction, this boldly sculptural and futuristic building was said to be the largest building of its kind in the world.
Printed with extract paste which bleaches into, and becomes part of the fabric, the print references the interwoven heritage of this building with Preston’s past. The apparent simplicity in the reduced interpretation and minimal forms hides the complexity of the printing process.