McChesneyArchitects

 

Practice
Ian McChesney
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Projects:

Key Built Work:
Pavilion, Preston
Windshelters, Blackpool

Public Realm:
A66, Middlesbrough
Panopticons, East Lancashire
Footbridge, New Islington
Bandstand, Durham
Cathedral Quarter, Truro
Pavilion, Regents Place
Shelter, Kielder
Windshelters, Blackpool

Public Buildings:
Pavilion, Preston
Harbour Masters Building, Paddington Basin
Festival Centre, Sheffield
Community Building, Dulwich

Houses:
Redberry Grove
Hither Green
West Norwood
Covent Garden
The Dulwich Estate
Scheme of Management

Furniture & Product Design:
Drawing Donkeys, Leeds
Lamps


 

 

 


 

Following an open RIBA competition the firm were commissioned to design two rotating wind shelters for Blackpool’s newly regenerated South Shore Promenade. They will form part of a series of art works under the wider auspices of the Great Promenade Show. The shelters are designed to rotate according to the prevailing wind direction to shield the occupants from the elements. The shape was born out of a distillation of the key required elements: a vane, which will turn the structure, and a baffle that will shelter the inhabitant from the wind. Extensive testing and development work was carried out to establish the performance of the shelters, looking specifically at the accuracy according to wind direction and also the speed of rotation. This culminated in the manufacture of a full sized working prototype. The shelter is 8 metres tall and manufactured from resilient ‘Duplex’ stainless steel. It sits on a 4 metre diameter turntable, which incorporates a damper to control the speed of rotation. This project was recently given a Civic Trust Award.