Paignton and Preston Coastal Defences: project overview and artist appointment

We’re very pleased to be working with Lydia Johnson, architect and ceramic artist, of Citizens Design Bureau, who has been commissioned by Torbay Culture to develop relief-based designs for the Paignton and Preston Coastal Defences public art commission. 

For the last six years, Lydia has been carving a path towards a combined future for her two passions: architecture and ceramics. Having set up her own ceramics venture, Fettle Studio, she joined Citizens Design Bureau to bring ceramics and architecture together as part of a shared working practice with a close-knit team of like-minded architects, artists, designers and makers. At CDB, Lydia brings together everything she loves – architecture, ceramics, making, working with people, communities, and making a difference – with a wonderful team to bounce ideas off, and share the stresses and the successes.

Citizens Design Bureau was founded in 2013 by architect Katy Marks. The practice’s work is rooted in a sense that exceptional design is borne out of an intricate understanding of place and genuine engagement with the people that might use it. They enjoy working with interesting people to make unusual things happen, developing rigorously practical solutions that are woven with ingenuity and which make people smile.

For the Paignton and Preston Coastal Defences commission, Lydia will research, design and develop a relief for the sea defence walls. Lydia will delve into the story of Paignton, gathering an understanding of its physical landscape, its ecology, its history, as well as its social value and cultural context, with an awareness of its changeability, its vulnerability, and its future. We look forward to the designs as they emerge!

Follow Citizens Design Bureau at www.instagram.com/citizensdesignbureau/.

Photos: Lydia Johnson