Cowbridge Comprehensive School

The redevelopment of Cowbridge Comprehensive School was a £21.5 million programme which consolidated three separate school sites into one, to create a 21st century educational facility. A critical feature of the architectural design was that there should be a seamless journey from the outside to the inside of the building, and that the designs for the glass entrance and the balustrading should link together visually. As the school is sited in a rural setting, it was decided that the imagery for the artworks should reflect the surrounding natural environment. The feature glass wall was required to be dynamic, yet fairly transparent.

For the main entrance, I used dichroic film to create a silhouette of a tree, which was laminated within the double glazed units, and replaced the existing units in the Velfac glazing system. The colour perceived by the dichroic film changes according to the perspective of the viewer, and is visible from both inside and outside the building. The warm Blaze finish used here shifts between tones of cyan / blue / magenta and red / gold. The birds were printed onto frosted Metamark manifestation film and applied to the inside of the double-glazed units.

The balustrading is located on either side of the main entrance bridge walkway. Approaching the building, 31 glass panels are located on the right hand side land continue past the entrance wall into the foyer, whilst the 18 panels on the left-hand side are all sited outside the building.

The balustrading is located on either side of the main entrance bridge walkway. Approaching the building, 31 glass panels are located on the right hand side land continue past the entrance wall into the foyer, whilst the 18 panels on the left-hand side are all sited outside the building.

Photo Credits: Girts Gailans

Commissioner: Vale of Glamorgan Council

Address: Aberthin Road, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales

Architects: HLM, Cardiff

Arts Commissioning Agent: Safle, Cardiff