By Designer Silka Gebhardt of Neu Architects.

The Roman Road is one of the oldest street markets in London.  It started up in 1843 to meet the food and clothing demands of the then booming east end, but its character has changed much since. It had a big name in the fashion world too at one time, and drew people from west London, seeking out specialist young designers, or customised second hand treasures. Nowadays, however, the market is run down. In the daytime it looks uncared for, and unhappy traders complain of a lack of traffic. At night, it’s gloomy, empty and dead.

Urban regeneration specialists Leaside Regeneration Ltd commissioned us to create a lighting installation at the market, which aimed to lift the spirit of the place in the daytime and help give a sense of security at night. But Leaside also warned that the market traders, some of whom had been there many years, might not think too much of ‘installations’ and designers – nor have much time for talk of regeneration.

So for me, to be a success, this had to be about designing for the community and with the community, creating something that could actually be made by the community, as long as it worked with the budget of course and my own creative direction!

In discussion with Leaside Regeneration, we found a starting point: the Christmas lighting poles, which were already in place along the market strip and wired up for electricity. We soon arrived at the idea of a washing line with individual items of light-installation clothing hung along it - something fun and colourful that everyone could relate to. We’d hang it out in colour-themed strips, and it would look bright and different in the day, and magical when illuminated at night.

Working with artist/designer/maker Bev Alvarez, we started trying to get people involved. Etchells Signs produced lightweight aluminium outlines for the clothing, ready to be filled with patchwork gems of recycled materials, most of it contributed by the local community. It was often difficult to motivate people, but Bev won them over, especially when she showed them her prototype – a pair of trousers twice her size. When we had enough materials of the right colour, Bev put it all together to fit the shapes.

We had 14 lines to fill. The idea was to have clothing on seven of them, and bunting in between to create a happy, celebratory feel. The bunting was made from a mixture of durable scraps, leftovers and drawings that had been produced by the community groups, which we had printed up. Everything went back to Etchells to be fitted with the final touch – fibre optic lighting. It was so exciting to see the first pictures, sent to us via email. All the clothing items would light up and change gently from one colour to the next from 5pm through to midnight.

Leaside organised an official launch of the creative lighting project on Saturday 22nd of July. Artist Kim Jenkins and Colin Bennett, the patisserie chef at the Waldorf, then got involved, creating a wonderful cake in the shape of a t-shirt, decorated with incredibly detailed patterns on top of a lush 17 layers of chocolate sponge, which was given out together with a certificate of participation to all the people involved in the project. The children especially loved it, and got high on chocolate and the general excitement.

I have worked in retail design for many years – the opposite end of the design spectrum. Your creations are ephemeral, impersonal and fast track. I enjoy it, but the satisfaction I got from the regeneration project was something else. It’s real, it’s lasting and it’s the world I live in. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the local people and working with local artists - and I hope that it contributes to making the people on Roman Road feel as special as they should.

We had amazing support in the end from the community. It would never have happened without the positive energy and experience of Peter Mitchell from Leaside Regeneration, the love and creativity of the very talented Bev Alvarez, and the groups involved: the Somali Women’s Group; Appian Court Ageing Well Group; Old Ford Primary School; the Idea Store’s drop-in workshops; and the Ragged School Museum’s drop-in workshops.

To contact Silka Gebhardt, please click here
www.neuarchitects.com

To contact Bev Alvarez, please click here

To contact Kim Jenkins and Colin Bennett, please click here