[hisimp-chat] Guided Busway Art - Your Help is required!

[Paul Malpas]

Regarding IVC, designed in 1937, this was the only work in the UK by the
ground-breaking German architect Walter Gropius with Maxwell Fry, the
English architect who had assisted Gropius in escaping Nazi Germany two
years before.  The village colleges in Cambridge were of course based on t
he work of educationalist (and, for 30 years, chief education officer for
Cambridgeshire) Henry Morris.  So in IVC we have an institution founded in
Morris' good principles of self enlightenment and community value, executed
with Gropius' bold and well-formed skills with contemporary materials and
forms.  This combination nicely represents the view of Histon/Impington I
formed when I moved here in 1997, a place that recognises and propagates the
value and benefits of community living, without being wed to a romanticised
facsimile of a bygone village life.  Walk up station road from the old
station and see the glass and steel offices alongside thatched cottages,
mansions alongside one-time alms-houses, commercial alongside domestic,
independent alongside familial. 

 

It remains to be seen if the Guided Bus system manages to combine communal
advantage and modernistic efficacy!

 

A good reference is http://www.infed.org/schooling/b-vilcol.htm

 

Also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Gropius

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morris_(education)

 

Hope that helps

Paul

 

From: hisimp-chat-bounces at the-hug.net
[mailto:hisimp-chat-bounces at the-hug.net] On Behalf Of Denis Payne
Sent: 16 August 2008 16:05
To: Chat about Histon and Impington
Subject: Re: [hisimp-chat] Guided Busway Art - Your Help is required!

 

Catrin

Recollections - when we first moved here how self sufficient we were - for
some people a trip to Cambridge was an infrequent, even rare, occurrence

Thoughts about the area - 

- Chivers - how much the family did for Histon & Impington, their impact as
a benevolent employer (on a similar but smaller scale to the Cadbury's),
what they've left as community assets, the Baptist Church, Histon Football
Club, the Recreation Ground, the civic cemetery; and how much the current
family continue to support the community - in a very quiet way

- innovation - and how little that is recognised - Unwins - with their work
on hybridisation to produce different sweet peas; education - and the whole
village college model introduced by Henry Morris

The Guided Bus, whether its wanted, whether it will be a success or not (and
its certainly not going to go away!) is also innovative - or so people may
look on it in a few tens of years time.

- and on the same theme - just how many people run businesses in the area -
www.192.com tells of over 200 businesses in each of Impington & Histon - but
at the same time, people still farming and trying to make a living from
growing things!

Denis




Enviro wrote: 

HELP REQUIRED

A POSTCARD FROM CAMBRIDGESHIRE
My name is Catrin Jones. I am one of the artists commissioned to enhance the
new Guided Busway. I was attracted to this project because of the wealth of
historical, social and environmental material associated with the area.
I work principally in glass, mostly for public architecture.  I intend to
focus on the bus shelters along the route, using them as a means of
reflection for each stop.  At the moment, I don't yet know how this will be
expressed.
To achieve this, I would like as many people as possible to send me some
information (that you think significant) about the locality.
I'm not thinking about the history or geography that could be found in a
guidebook.  I'm more interested in your feelings about the area (good or
bad) - personal memories, recollections, or events.  For example, it could
be an old map, photograph or drawing.  It could be a quotation, or some
lines of poetry, a map reference, or information about an archeological
find. It could be something personal, some family history, some local
phrases or pieces of dialect. It could be something about special animals or
plants.  Anything that you think epitomizes your locality.


You could email information to me at catrin at catrinjones.co.uk but, if
possible, I'd prefer a postcard or a letter, addressed to me at 11,
Chaddesley Terrace, Swansea, SA1 6HB.  If you can generate a sufficient
quantity of the right sort of information, I can use it as the basis for my
artwork.
 
I'd be grateful if you could circulate this message as widely as possible.
Since time is short, I'd like to receive contributions by the end of August.
 
Thank you.  Catrin Jones

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