Bull Ring Wind Wands
Birmingham, UK
Competition Winner
Client: Hamerson and Bull Ring Alliance
Design: Artist Peter Fink
Engineering: Techniker
Wind wands are art features of the newly redeveloped Bull Ring Centre Birmingham – one of the largest retail-led urban regeneration project in Europe. The wands form a visual termination point of the strong urban axis between the St. Martins Square and the newly created Rotunda Square. The 30m, 25m and 20m high wands emphasise the principle connective vista as well as visually terminate the new square. The wands animate the new square and its surroundings with an almost constant wind induced movement emulating the behaviour of trees and plants.
The mirror polished stainless steel leaves form a helical pattern when the mast are still and position themselves onto the leading edge when the masts are swaying. The Light wands are internally illuminated at their base and tip and a matrix of LED light points. The night time presence of the light wands is further emphasized by LED light illumination of the 'tramline strips' of black granite.
KPMG City academy Hackney
Client: Hackney Borough Council
Using full partnering the project team have successfully met the challenges of a tight programme and complex site, at the same time implementing an exemplar programme of ‘young client’ engagement with participation of the Sorrell foundation. A colourful glassy school ribbon, woven through clusters of mature existing trees, faces the sensitive Clapton Square Conservation Area and grade II listed Sutton House across the High Street. The artist Peter Fink was responsible for developing the colour philosophy for the building jointly with the pupils and the Studio E Architects.
Bartle Hall Convention Centre Plaza, Kansas City
International competition finalist
The international competition brief was to design a high impact public art work for the exterior space of Bartle Hall Convention Centre , Kansas City's largest complex of multifaceted structures dedicated to meetings and conventions, sports and entertainment.
As an integral part of the submission for a major sculptural gateway out of stainless steel and glass a new square was proposed. This new square was designed to link the sculptural gateway with both the Convention centre and the planned new Performance Centre by Moshe Safdie Architects.
Mersey Wave + Roundabouts
Competiton Winner
Lighting Award Winner
Location: Liverpool, UK
Client: Speke Garston development Company, Liverpool Land Development Company with sponsorship from Jaguar Cars
Team: Peter Fink + Techniker
Bull Ring Mersey Wave_art cape.pdf (1 MB)
PUBLIC ART-A WORLD'S EYE VIEW_2008.pdf (19 MB)
A visually dramatic 30 meters high and 72m long gateway expressing a tidal wave of the Mersey marks the geographic boundary of Liverpool and the close proximity of the Jaguar Halewood plant. Uniquely the Mersey Wave is the first urban gateway of its kind designed to be experienced both from moving cars as well as by pedestrians. The geometry of the Mersey Wave gateway is formed by a parallel two sided progression of six 30m long fins at graduated angles from the vertical forming a continuous dynamic waveform. The two central fins form a clear and distinct gateway threshold marking the entry in and exit from Liverpool.
Durham County Boundary Highway sign
The sign is designed to mark the entrance into the county, creating a spatial landmark. The 20m tall structural column plays with coloured glazed elements that overlap each other, creating a different mood depending on the angle and speed one approaches the sign along the motorway. At night, the landmark turns into a ligh beacon, visible for several miles.
The structure was brought onto sight already assembled and erected in a few hours, with minimal disruption to the traffic. Durham sign quickly became a signature landmark for the whole area.
Wynyard Pedestrian Bridge, Durham
Limited Competition Winner
Client: Durham County Council
Visual dynamism of the bridge was achieved by adding two series of parallel ‘fan’ like steel profiles, balancing on the structure of the bridge and over sailing the deck. Positioned along two sides of the structure, the geometry of the fans creates several new horizontal and cross sectional profiles for the bridge as a whole. With vivid alternate colours, dynamic profiles and lighting the bridge’s standard cable-stay design becomes animated and clearly visible from afar as well as forming a more dynamic identity for the new bridge for cyclists and pedestrians, completing the sea-to-sea National Cycling Sustran route.
Three Graces
Trio Development Pasadena, Los Angeles
Competition Winner
Client: Shea Properties Inc
The scale, orientation and massing of the Three Graces is designed to complement the architectural concept of the Trio building located in the Theatre District of Pasadena. The three kinetic sculptures are designed to move freely with the wind whilst reflecting the ground in its mirror polished surfaces.
The sculptural elements are internally lit with a programmatic colour change and designed to provide an iconic presence from all the main approaches, literally animating the top of the building facade.
Light Beacon
Columbus Community College
Columbus Ohio
International competition Finalist
Design team: Peter Fink + Joost van Santen
The competition proposal involved the design of a landmark sculptural tower supporting dichroic glass panels and programmatic LED lighting.
Porteus Subway
Paddington, London
Competition Winner
Client: Land Securities + Westminster City Council
Vitreous enamel panels with a digitally generated pattern were used to transform the subway under the Westway elevated motorway. The refurbished subway now functions as the main gateway into the new Paddington Central Business District from the surrounding canal dominated residential area.
Sunderland Gateway Sculpture
Competition Design Finalist
Client: Sunderland Council
Limited competition proposal for a landmark feature to mark one of the key gateway access points into Sunderland. The sculpture proposal is based on a diagonally tapering truss
clad by glass planks. The glass planks would have been formed by holographic and metalized glass.
Steel wave
Client: Newport Borough Council
In Newport, where as Town Sculptor with the Architectural and Housing Department between 1988 - 1991, Peter Fink undertook his Steel Wave commission
In the event, he spearheaded the whole funding strategy for Steel Wave, including a big private sector input from British Steel (who co fabricated the sculpture) with 16
- ther companies, as well as the European Commission, the Welsh Development Agency and Newport City, with several awards from Central Government under the Business Sponsorship Incentive Scheme,
In 1990 the project won a British Gas/Am Council Working for Cities Award.
"Although the Borough Council had expected a great deal from this appointment I doubt very
much if they could have anticipated the sheer magnitude of the project and the energy that the artist brought to his post. As a part of my job, at the Arts Association, I come in to contact with a great many artists who are invariably hard working, innovative and generous with their time but even by these demanding and exacting standards Peter proved exceptional in his ability. The realisation of the "Steel Wave" has to be the most striking example of sculpture Newport has ever seen and is by no means an "easy" piece of work. Harnessing a complex combination of interests, organisations and sponsors was a job suitable for Henry Kissinger as much as an artist. Peter's diplomatic skills, tenacity and ability to clearly articulate his ideas succeeded where fainter hearts would have not lasted the pace.
Over a period of two and a half years this ambitious project, which could not have happened
without the important support and belief of Newport Borough Council, came to life. It has been an education watching this project from conception through to completion, Newport will not forget the time Peter spent working there." Richard Cox the Arts development Officer of the South East Wales Arts Association, which was instrumental in setting up the residency.
The initial development of this project involved an extensive public consultation reaching an estimated thirty thousand local people, Peter Fink toured with the exhibition of the preliminary proposals for the river- front to various public venues, including supermarkets, schools, factories and old people's homes. This wide ranging consultation was not concerned with securing a popular aesthetic endorsement but with the direct engaging of people with the concept of the sculpture in general, as well as with the specific underlying philosophy of regeneration to their town."
RIBA International Competition
Second Prize
Client: City of Newport
Considerably later after the erection of the Steel Wave Peter Fink took part in a competition for a new Market square - a key space reconnecting the town centre with its water edge celebrating Newport’s links to the sea and steel making. The spatial organisation of the new square redefines the present ambiguous and ill-defined area into a high impact location, a pedestrian dominant space with a clear circulation and non-conflicting traffic hierarchy.
The proposal assumed the relocation of the Steel Wave as a focal point of a visually dynamic wave like deck cantilevering over the river Usk. Together they form a dramatic and panoramic gateway to Market Square. The timber platform provides a soft conclusion to the stone floorscape, a positive link with the marine environment of the river. The waveform from reinforced grass platforms provides passive amenity whilst large-scale broad leaf trees provide enclosure and seasonal response.
