Sideshow London by Blackhorse Tube Station, Equipment Works, U+I Northeast London

Sideshow London by Blackhorse Tube Station

Associated Equipment Company Factory, Northeast London design by Ehk!, England, UK

28 Jul 2017

Sideshow London by Blackhorse Tube Station, Walthamstow

Location: Equipment Works site near Blackhorse Road Station, Walthamstow, E17, Northeast London

Design: Ehk!

SIDESHOW installation by Blackhorse Workshop and U+I

MANUFACTURING SITE OF FIRST LONDON BUS SET TO BECOME SUMMER SHOWCASE OF DESIGNER-MAKERS, ART AND EVENTS IN E17

This summer, the Blackhorse Workshop and specialist regeneration company U+I are presenting SIDESHOW, a new installation that celebrates the maker culture of London, at the Equipment Works site near Blackhorse Road station.

Opening on the 16th August and running until the end of December 2017, SIDESHOW will host a series of family-friendly exhibitions and invite visitors to get ‘hands on’ with a large interactive marble run, built from London bus components. This acknowledges the rich history and heritage of the site, which was originally the home of the Associated Equipment Company Factory, whose prototypes inspired the design of London’s iconic Routemaster bus.

The Workshop teamed up with young architectural practice Ehk! to design and build a structure to be built by workshop members. The giant marble run, which incorporates over two hundred steel ball bearings, will weave its way around the site through disused bus parts, making a playful nod to its historical past.

Throughout this summer’s tenancy, Art Director and Set Designer Katie Fotis will be presenting a series of interactive exhibitions in the space, local coffee wizards Wood St Coffee will be serving up arguably the best coffee in E17 – with a coffee pop up during the day and a bar running Thursday and Friday evenings, and Blackhorse Workshop will be delivering making activities open to all ages throughout the summer.

Harriet Warden, Creative Director of Blackhorse Workshop said:

“It’s been a fantastic opportunity for the Workshop to design and build such a playful structure that demonstrates the huge importance of making to the area. We’re also very pleased to have the chance to deliver our first programme of workshops for kids and create a fun destination for the summer”.

Arlene van Bosch, Development Director, at U + I, said:

“We are pleased to be working with Blackhorse Workshop to create an inspiring space for the public that showcases local makers. SIDESHOW is the initial project, and we have plans to reinforce Walthamstow’s reputation as a destination for makers in London by providing beautifully designed commercial workshops in the final scheme for Equipment Works”.

Blackhorse Workshop was set up in 2014 with the ambition to support the creative industry and regeneration within the Blackhorse Road area, and has recently launched a new building, additional studios and dedicated education space. It has become a pioneer in the maker-space movement, encouraging similar projects London wide. SIDESHOW plans to continue this pursuit by celebrating the dynamic and growing maker community operating from the heart of this neighbourhood.

Showcase will be the bi-monthly exhibition series that will be presented at SIDESHOW curated and designed by art director Katie Fotis, showing work made by designers based at Blackhorse Workshop. Opening with The Sound of Summer (16th August – 23rd September) each of these three exhibitions will explore and reveal different aspects behind the making process, introducing fresh approaches to design and emerging talent to be inspired by.

In the first of these shows, five designers will be creating an interactive soundscape, showing furniture and sculptural objects that generate or respond to sound.

• Italian designer Giorgio Ritucci will present his furniture collection ‘Cut from Canvas’, where furniture objects are created from musically generated ‘action painting’.
• Dusty Waters will construct a percussive mobile, creating contrasting dancing textures that sound as you spin them.
• Zine maker Adam Vaudin will be engineering illustrated responses to the site’s structure.
• Giles Leaman, known for his incredible sensory playgrounds for kids will be creating an experimental rhythmic sound journey from DIY instruments expertly scavenged from everyday materials.
• Metalworker Lauren Wilson explores the parabolic acoustic mirror through her steel sculptures. These mirrors were tools of surveillance used in the second world war to detect incoming enemy through the reflection and focusing of sound waves.

Next year, U+I plans to begin work on a new mixed-use development on the Equipment Works site, which will deliver new homes and workspaces for small businesses. The development would transform the current 3-acre industrial site into a new landscaped environment with 337 new homes and commercial space for businesses. Opening up the site for the local neighbourhood, the proposals also include a new public square and dedicated pedestrian access throughout the development. You can find out more here: http://www.equipmentworks.co.uk/

For more information about SIDESHOW or Blackhorse Workshop, please contact: Harriet Warden / [email protected] / +44 (0) 20 8531 1612

Sideshow Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday 10-4pm

Coffee Served: Monday – Friday 7.30am – 3.30pm Saturday: 10am – 2pm

Bar Open: Thursdays & Fridays 6.30pm – 11.00pm

Launch Night: Thursday 16th August 6.30pm – Late – All welcome Address: Forest Works, Forest Road, London E17 6JF Nearest Tube / Overground: Blackhorse Road (opposite entrance) Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8531 1612

Website: Blackhorse Sideshow

Keep Up To Date: Twitter: @BlackhorseWS Instagram: BlackhorseWS Facebook: BlackhorseWS Blackhorse Workshop: Blackhorse Workshop was founded with a mission to create a new kind of public space, one that would provide affordable access to tools and machinery for everyone, from the complete novice through to the professional craftsman. The workshop was founded by Assemble, and developed into a reality by its Creative Director, Harriet Warden.

The workshop has recently launched a new building, education space and outdoor working area funded by The Mayor of London’s high street fund. The project was originally commissioned by Waltham Forest Council, and co-founded by Create, the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund and the Olympic Legacy Trust UK.

U&I: U+I is a specialist regeneration and property developer.
With a £5bn portfolio of complex, mixed-use, community-focused regeneration projects including a £200m investment portfolio, we are unlocking urban sites bristling with potential in the London, Manchester and Dublin city regions. We create long-lasting social and economic change for the communities in which we build, and sustainable value for our shareholders.
To find out more, visit www.uandiplc.com.

Ehk! (engelhadleykirk Ltd.) is a London based architecture, design and research practice run by Elisa Engel, Richard Hadley and Stephen Kirk.

Sideshow London by Blackhorse Underground Station images / information from Blackhorse Workshop

Location: Walthamstow, Northeast London, E17 6JJ, England, UK

London Building Designs

Contemporary London Architectural Designs

London Architecture Links – chronological list

London Architecture Tours – bespoke UK capital city walks by e-architect

London Architects Offices

London Architecture News

Another Walthamstow architecture design on e-architect:

Pocket Apartments in Walthamstow
Design: Gort Scott Architect

image courtesy of architects
New Buildings in Walthamstow
45 new affordable ‘Pocket’ apartments developed from disused office space in the heart of Walthamstow.

Contemporary Northeast London Buildings

Infill Building
Architects: NK Architects

image : Robin Hayes
Newington Green House

Stoke Newington House
Architects: atmos

photo courtesy of architects
Stoke Newington House

Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form
Design: Jestico + Whiles

photograph © Tim Crocker
Stoke Newington School Building

Comments / photos for the Sideshow London by Blackhorse Tube Station page welcome

Website: Blackhorse Road Station