Leaf arrangement across the 21 Young Street facade
© House of Shaun Leane
July 2018 will see jewellery designer Shaun Leane’s first move into the realms of architecture and public art, with the launch of a major commission for 21 Young Street – a new residential building in Kensington designed by Assael Architecture. Leane, noted for his one-of-a-kind catwalk jewellery and longstanding relationship with fashion designer Alexander McQueen, was commissioned by Grainger plc to design the bronze artwork across the building’s 40mx30m façade. Curated by Futurecity, this is one of the biggest public realm commissions in the UK undertaken by a jewellery designer. In recognition of the scale and profile of the commission, a piece of the artwork will be on permanent display at the V&A Museum, meaning Leane’s work will now be exhibited across three of the gallery’s collections: jewellery, fashion and metalwork.
Fabrication of 21 Young Street commission at Chris Brammall foundry
© House of Shaun Leane
Leane was commissioned to design the 36 balcony railings and two gates across the façade of the development, designed by Assael Architecture. Arbour, which is made up of 1,850 bronze sculpted leaves and three-dimensional branches, transports the greenery of neighbouring Kensington Square onto 21 Young Street. Leane looked to mimic the leafy surroundings where trees soften and dapple the light in contrast to the area’s linear backdrops. Weaving their way across the front of the building, the density of the leaves varies on each balcony as if blowing in an autumnal breeze. Leane wanted to capture both the fragility and strength of nature in the metalwork, a theme which heavily reflects his signature jewellery aesthetic.
“The 21 Young Street commission has filled me with energy, it has been both exciting and challenging to be presented with the possibility of decorating a building’s façade and working to a scale larger than I ever have before. I believe that with creative freedom, innovation can truly flourish. To be invited to create a piece of art such as this and for it to be protected for 125 years is truly an honour and testament to our future legacy”.
-Shaun Leane
The artwork is cast in Phosphor Bronze and weighs in excess of 4 tonnes. Each of the balcony railings is unique, featuring hand-formed curves with the leaves cast and grafted into stems, then patented and treated to give a rich bronze finish. Almost 3,000 linear metres of bronze sections will be used to form the handrails. Leane chose to work with British award-winning architectural and sculptural metalwork foundry Chris Brammall, based in Cumbria.
“It has been a real pleasure to introduce a master craftsman like Shaun Leane to a major public realm commission like Young Street. Shaun’s exquisite design, and his graceful interpretation of nature, form and movement has been translated beautifully across a building façade, complementing Assael’s architectural design perfectly. It’s a great honour that the legacy of Shaun’s work will last both on-site in Kensington and – through our cultural brokering work – within the V&A, the world’s leading museum of art and design.”
-Vicki Young, Head of Arts Commissioning, Futurecity
The 21 Young Street Commission is featured in the print issue of this month’s Wallpaper* Magazine.