Roche
by Susanna Heron
We at Capsico feel our work lies in the juncture between Art & Architecture and love to work on projects exemplary of this.
Designed as the ‘anchor’ to the Cabot Circus development, this landmark building designed by Stanton Williams for House of Fraser uses the classical materials of portland stone, glass and bronze to create a contemporary modern retail outlet. The sensitive approach to the materials and site specificity acts as a balm against the ubiquitousness of the contemporary high-street and other development's fondness for ‘plop-art’.
The plinth level features a bronze frieze, with some of the individual panels weighing up to 160kg. These panels were first modelled in wax with the moulds created at our works, then cast and then precision milled to a smooth surface. Each individual panel features a unique design with as much variation and relief as possible – letting light bounce off the patina.
The selected patina is custom but similar to our Standard FHT - it gives a fiery quality synonymous with molten metal, perhaps of the magma produced by tectonic shifts or the incandescence created in the foundry casting process. The upper panels are comprised of patinated pressed copper cassettes.
The walls are 35m long by roughly 7m high.
Images courtesy of the artist.
Artist: Susanna Heron
Client: The Bristol Alliance (Hammerson & Land Sec)
Building Architect: Stanton Williams
Material: Bronze
Bronze Milling: Xavier Engineering Ltd
Patina code : Custom Patina- similar to FHT
Project type: Completed at our works
Location: Broadmead Shoping District, Bristol.
