Projects
Attempts to revisit the trug
I organised a group of designers to examine the craft of Sussex Trug making this year. To start with a few of us went to visit John Carnell, one of the last remaining trug makers in Sussex who still makes trugs the traditional way. My visit to John can be read about here.
Following our introduction into the craft, a few of us developed new concepts that tie in with Trugs. These images show the pretty little DIY trug designed by…
More »
The Elves and the Chairmakers
One factory, 5 Designers, and 2 days.
On a sleepy weekend in early June this year, five designers visited the famous Lloyd Loom of Spalding factory. Whilst the assembly workers were away, and assisted by two of Lloyd Loom’s loyal craftsmen, the designers with no set agenda, helped themselves to standard components, experimented and reinterpreted. Over the intense and frantic two days, thirteen new concepts were conceived and left in the factory showroom for the staff to find on Monday morning.
The…
More »
Park Bench Bike
I was recently asked by a local Artist if I could design and produce some outdoor seating that had to fulfill a complicated set of criteria. The seating had to be used for conducting interviews between the artist and local residents of the Elephant and Castle. These interviews were to take place in a number of different locations around the Elephant and Castle, and the benches also needed to be stored in a safe place at night. My answer was…
More »
First tidy your room
In September 2007, William Warren was asked by CABE to submit a proposal for a series of large installations that were to form the centrepieces to a nationwide festival of architecture and climate change. CABE is the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.
Although William did not receive the final commission he did manage to get shortlisted down to the final two. Below are some details from his submission.
WHAT IS NEEDED?
AN ICON
Enigmatic, photographic, memorable and magical. A symbol for a…
More »
Hampton Court Palace
In February and March 2010, William was employed as designer in residence at Hampton Court Palace.
Hampton Court Palace is really two palaces in one. The front of the Palace is tudor and well known for its connections to Henry the Eighth. The Back of the Palace was built in 1689 by Christopher Wren for the monarchs William and Mary. It is considered to be the english Versailles and an amazing example of high Boroque. Unlike the tudor palace, the baroque…
More »
How to Make an Entrance
The Robert Clack School in Dagenham received funding from the Building Schools for the Future programme to rebuild and refurbish one of their two school sites. Creative Partnerships engaged William to work alongside a group of forty five Robert Clack pupils, to ensure that the students who will be using the new school have a say in its design and to benifit the students with the learning opportunities this process presented.
William and the students centred their thinking on the school’s…
More »
WC Franck and Thonet
Model No. 14 chair:
This year is the 150th anniversary of the model No.14 bentwood chair, also known as the ‘cafe´ or ‘consumer chair’. Designed in 1859 by Michael Thonet (1796-1871) and still in production today the No.14 is thought to be the best-selling chair of all time.
Thonet is the Godfather of the modern chair, a pioneer of the ‘flat-pack’ principle and one of the first great figures of industrial design. His patented steam forming process for creating bentwood furniture on…
More »
