Swindon's Regeneration : Back Down To Earth

A cleared canvas at Regent Circus.

The above picture is a photograph of, space. Not a building, or a person, but a large area of fresh air. Far off in the distance you can see the houses of Eastcott Hill. Yesterday, the final ground floor sections of wall were crumbled away by the Wring Group's machines and the former Swindon College 'modern' extension was no more.

All that remain are 20,000 tonnes, or thereabouts of material, metal, concrete, wood and glass to be sorted, reduced to transportable size, boxed up and moved for reuse. That should take a few weeks, then building work can start in October.

The small pile of debris in the centre right and the collection of metal to the far left are the last pieces of the main tower that were pulled down yesterday.

What also remains on site are the memories of classes, teachers, students, exams, assemblies, gigs, plays, meetings and much, much more. 

Swindon's Regeneration : A Change In The Air

A brooding sky, quiet street and birds circling overhead, give an unsettling feeling on Monday lunchtime.

Demolition sites can be fascinating places, allowing people to act like children and watch big machines crush buildings to dust. But give a change in the weather, a break in work and an absence of people and they can take on a sinister air.

The only sound alongside the breeze was the gentle hiss of the water spray.

With a moody sky, the hulking pile (for it's no longer a tower) of debris where the central tower once stood threw-out odd shapes against the sky. In Edmund Street, the breeze coming down Eastcott Hill rocked the access gates back and forth, squeaking and clattering on it's hinges. Behind the hoarding, the spray was left on, like a leaky steam pipe in a ship's empty boiler room. Small areas of dust would blow around the yard, bouncing off the walls.

On the hill, tables at The Beehive, overlooking the demolition were vacant, and streets were quiet, sitting in a purgatory. The neighbourhood seemed to know it was at a crossing point of eras, with time for the remaining one crumbling away like so much concrete dust.

Swindon's Regeneration : The Tower's Last Stand

Rest awhile and watch the demolition.

A new sport, non-Olympic based it has to be said, has been to sit for a short or long while depending on your day, and observe the regeneration of Swindon's Regent Circus. On benches at the bottom of the hill and mid-way up by The Beehive pub people sit quietly and watch the crumbling of the former college building.

The wafer-thin looking roof is quickly broken off and consigned to the scrap wood piles on the ground.

Whilst onsite on Friday we captured the roof being nibbled away at and come crashing down.

Anybody for some very last-minute careers advice in the library?

The last few pieces of the Learning Resource Centre in the rubble of the library can be seen brightly clinging to the wall.

In a matter of days, it'll all be gone.

Swindon's Regeneration : The Final Piece

The tower of the former Swindon College is marooned amongst the piles of metal, glass, plastic and concrete as the demolition enters it's last few stages. This was the 10 storey tower that stood between the long rectangular block towards Victoria Road and the reception and hall at the Eastcott Hill end of the site. It's taken on the look of an oriental pagoda, helped by the one piece of sloping roof still clinging on.

The wall that's kept Eastcott Hill hidden from view for so long, is nearly all down.

Swindon's Regeneration : The Legacy

Curiosity across the generations at the former Swindon College Regent Circus site.

Often the legacy of regeneration is the least sure thing to predict or plan for. It's not exactly measurable or a tangible result, but the above picture I caught earlier today sums up one thing regeneration can do, it can spark an interest, a curiosity, maybe even a passion, in places around us.

The view looking north from the corner of the Beehive pub on Eastcott Hill.

The wider view of the Regent Circus site from the Central Library side.

Making an Exhibition of Ourselves

Come along to see photographs from behind the scenes at the UK's only train building factory, where the good people of Bombardier are building new tube trains for London.

You can talk about pictures online, upload them, leave comments and Google further details, but how about seeing them in-person?

That's exactly what you'll be able to do from tomorrow evening. The graduating shows from many of the photography courses round the country are happening in the next few weeks at the Old Truman Brewery in London's Brick Lane, and the whole graduating class (including me) will be there.

As part of the Free Range set of shows, it gives us a chance to showcase our final project in a proper gallery setting and invite along a wide range of industry people to ask questions, critique and offer advice.

The exhibition runs from Friday 22nd until Monday 25th June (Friday- Monday 10am - 7pm and Monday 10am - 4pm), is free and has a wide range of photography on display.

I'll be displaying the Bombardier Derby and London Underground Neasden S-Stock project, entitled, 'At London's Service'.

Pop along and say hello!

Swindon's Regeneration : Swindon, Works

Swindon's newest artwork gives a salute to the past and a glimpse to the future.

Today's unveiling of the newly refurbished Great Western Underpass gives a real hint of how Swindon has finally begun to embrace it's heritage as a key selling-point.

Along one wall is a set of portraits of rail workers through the ages, right up to the present day. Finished in Great Western green, the images are backlit, creating a dramatic installation piece as you walk between Churchward and Bristol Street. On the opposite wall, in big chunky steel lettering are the words 'Swindon Works'.

The quote from artist Bruce Williams sums it up nicely, "On the opposite wall in gleaming letters read the words SWINDON WORKS, which is the name of the site but could also read as a hopeful slogan for the future."