Ipswich, Giles Circus

Posted: 21 Apr, 2015

Materials:

Mid Grey Granite Tactile Paving and Kerb‚ Silver Grey Granite Plinth‚ Medium Grey Granite Radial Paving‚ Pink Granite Setts and Yorkstone Paving

Details:

During a conference in London, Michael Heap and Giles Heap of CED Stone Group were approached by a contract manager representing Ipswich Council. The council required assistance in implementing a scheme expeditiously, yet they lacked a clear strategy for execution.

The scheme was Giles’ Circus‚ Ipswich. This congregation of streets was named after the famous cartoonist from the Express Group of Newspapers. His office window afforded him a view of the circus, and a statue of one of his most renowned characters, “Grandma,” was established in the location to honor his contributions as a satirical artist.

The council sought to redesign the area with a contemporary approach. The redesign needed to accommodate the considerable bus traffic and high volumes of pedestrians while simultaneously creating a welcoming environment for the shoppers, visitors, and local residents in the vicinity.

In response to the council's requirements, Michael and Giles proposed utilizing a grey-pink granite for the road surface which would give the area a warm and inviting aesthetic. Additionally, they suggested using two complementary high-quality yorkstone pavings and to assist individuals with visual impairments, a blue-grey granite was introduced to delineate the boundary between the paving and the roadway.

The statue of Grandma was relocated from its original position and raised onto a three-tiered granite dais, which featured inscriptions of the surrounding street names along with a memorial to Carl Giles. CED Stone Group was also responsible for the design and provision of these elements.

The roadway was designed to the specifications of BS7533:2010 and incorporated 150 mm x 300 mm x 180 mm thick granite setts along with Steintec mortars. The design was engineered to support in excess of 1,000 axles per day, distinguishing it as one of the pioneering schemes in the United Kingdom to implement the then-new British Standards.

The timeline from initial concept discussions to order confirmation spanned approximately ten weeks, which is notably efficient. The entire scheme was officially opened in September 2010.