Annie Cattrell, Memory 1 (detail), 2010. Courtesy of the artist and Hancock Museum and Art Gallery.
Synopsis
British artist Annie Cattrell is working with the University of Bristol Faculty of Engineering and art consultants Willis Newson on the development of a new public art work for the University’s Queen’s Building extension. The project will feature a period of research with academics, staff and students to interpret the work of this dynamic faculty which includes structural and nonlinear dynamics, aerodynamics, earthquake engineering, soil mechanics, applied mechanics, water and environmental Engineering, and robotics (including the collaborative Bristol Robotics Laboratory).
The University of Bristol Faculty of Engineering is divided into two schools across two buildings: The Queen’s Building and The Merchant Venturer’s Building. The Queen’s School houses the Departments of Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, along with an interdisciplinary programme in Engineering Design.
The new extension to the Queen’s School, designed by architects Kendall Kingscott, will provide an open-plan learning environment, additional teaching and research space, a multi-use atrium, design studios and offices and some external works to create a new 75m link path way. In addition, the building will contain teaching space used by the whole Faculty of Engineering, including Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering Mathematics.
The artist’s engagement with staff and students of the Faculty of Engineering has been designed to establish a process where the artist can actively understand the work of the department, and provide material for the development of a final proposal. Cattrell works closely in dialogue with specialists in neuroscience, meteorology, engineering, psychiatry and the history of science. This cross-disciplinary approach has enabled her to learn in depth about these fields and informs her cutting-edge research. She is particularly interested in where art, science and the poetic meet. Since 2014 she has been Lead Artist for the New Museum Site at Cambridge University a ten year major redevelopment. Recently she completed a large scale sculpture commission called Resounding for the new award winning John Henry Brookes building designed by Design Engine for Oxford Brookes University.
Women currently represent only about 10 percent of the engineering workforce in the UK. The Faculty of Engineering is committed to providing a positive working environment for women. By developing good employment practices, tackling the unequal representation of women in research and teaching and improving career progression for female academics, the Faculty is contributing to the national goal of advancing women in sectors traditionally dominated by men.
Annie Cattrell is a fine artist who works with many materials and is also a tutor at the Royal College of Art and Reader in Fine Art at De Montfort University. She works closely in dialogue with specialists in neuroscience, meteorology, engineering, psychiatry and the history of science. This cross-disciplinary approach has enabled her to learn in depth about these fields and informs her cutting-edge practice. She is particularly interested in where art, science and the poetic meet and has created work for the Wellcome Trust, the Faraday Museum, V&A and Royal Scottish Academy among others.
Willis Newson is a leading Bristol-based independent arts consultancy specialising in creative approaches to improving health and wellbeing. It develops public art strategies for new builds and refurbishments, develops, manages and curates public art plans and public engagement programmes, delivers training for artists and performers in healthcare settings and provides advice and guidance on the design and implementation of projects to promote healthy environments and improve health and well being.
Bristol is one of the most popular and successful universities in the UK and was ranked within the top 40 universities in the world in the QS World University rankings 2015. Bristol was the first university to take part in the Green Impact Awards, a scheme to reduce collective environmental impact, and one of only eight UK universities selected to take part in a pilot for the Green Academy programme to make sustainability part of the curriculum. The Faculty of Engineering is one of 6 faculties within the University, including the Faculties of Arts, Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences, Science, Social Science and Law.
Kendall Kingscott is a multi-disciplinary consultancy practice with a client-focussed approach to delivering building projects. The company was established in 1962 and has always worked across a range of sectors with public and private clients. The company believes in well-designed buildings that respond to their surroundings and enhance the lives of their users. Whilst the practice is not constrained by an in-house style, a regard for sustainability does underpin each and every design decision.
