'NORgate'
Livingston Landmark Project
DEER PARK
/ NEWPARK
LIZZIE BRICE / ELIBURN
'NORgate'
location: 4 roundabouts on the main
approaches
to Livingston New Town, West Lothian, Scotland.
materials:
reclaimed
dyking stone, black whin,
yellow limestone and copper
date: completed April 1996
'Dyke Swarm'
In 1996 Livingston was due to lose its New Town status, and prior to winding-up the Development Corporation undertook a programme of Public Art Works.The Landmark Project was one of the last comissions undertaken by the Corporation.
New Towns have by their nature and lack of traditional landmarks been difficult for visitors to navigate around.The purpose of the 'sculptures' was to give the roundabouts a distinctive character and so help to improve orientation and direction around the town.
'compass'
Design
Livingston, (the buckle of the central belt?) had for centuries been a traditional farming area, but the discovery of large deposits of shale in the 1860s led to an industrialisation of the area. Oil was extracted from this shale to make everything from candles to aviation fuel. The residue from this process blights or crowns the landscape of the area,(depending upon your viewpoint,) today in the shape of huge pink bings.
The mines and refineries are all gone and been replaced by a new industrial base built upon new technologies in microelectronics which has led to Livingston becoming the capital of 'Silicon Glen.'
The artworks are intended to reflect this historical past and high-tech future by using a combination of stone and copper.
sketch for
Newpark Roundabout
As tends to be the case, the budget for this project had to be spent before the end of the Corporations financial year. I was first approached in August 95 and given a week! to come up with initial ideas. Working closely with Paul Filipek of the Corporations Planning department designs were refined and ammended and led to a start date on site at the end of November leaving just 4 months to complete the works.
The scale of the project meant that it fell within the new CDM regulations. Being appointed the main contractor this involved me with preparing a safety plan in partnership with a Health & Safety Consultant. On site I employed a team of masons & labourers to work alongside me to produce the work.