United Kingdom
on these rounded forms.’^11 A direct source of inspi-
ration for the bronze water vessels produced by the
Asquith partnership was the work of Christopher
Dresser,^12 a late nineteenth-century professor of
botany who also became a designer of functional
furnishings and an advocate of industrial manufac-
turing, though his simple geometrical designs for
domestic objects like teapots, soup tureens and
kettles were too radical for Victorian tastes. Richard
Perry, the stone carver, working with the landscape
architect Richard Watts, responded with the idea of
the fat balusters. Ceramicist Tracy Heyes produced
textured tiles based on leaf forms for the water
channels, and collaborated in the design of the
paving for the central fountain. Richard Perry was
assisted by the Carving Workshop Cambridge.
Everything in the Peace Gardens and the neighbour-
ing Town Hall Square is bespoke and, as a result of
the lengthy discussions between members of the
design team, there is a strong family resemblance
between the elements. This applies as much to the
incidental features such as benches, bollards, plant-
ers and litter bins as it does to integrated water
features and lighting.
The lighting concept was provided by Equation.
Three forms of lighting were suggested – base
lighting for safety and convenience, amenity lighting
to enhance the aesthetics of the gardens and flood
lighting to show off the Town Hall to best effect.
Listed Building Consent was required for the latter.
The basic lighting comes from lanterns mounted
on lamp-posts. The amenity lighting is integrated
into the design at lower level, picking out features
like walkways and steps. There are also submerged
lights which illuminate the plumes of water which
fall from the bronze vessels. Fibre optic lighting was
included within the central water feature, but with
limited success because the power is insufficient.
