Art Street
City Inn's biggest commitment to the Arts to date is "Art Street", the capital's first ever street conceived as a work of art.The pedestrian link between John Islip Street and Millbank was incorporated in the design of City Inn Westminster from the earliest stage in 1999. The potential of this new urban route to provide a unique opportunity to integrate art with architecture was recognised by Sandy Orr, chairman and David Orr, managing director of City Inn Ltd.
The Orrs worked with Bennetts Associates, architects, and Vivien Lovell,art consultant of Modus Operandi. in selecting Susanna Heron for the artist's commission. Close design collaboration between artist and architects has resulted in the integration of the new work Side Street.
The idea of an 'art' street for public access has been supported by Westminster City Council, Tate Britain and local residents groups from its genesis 'It is 80-metres long and seven metres high. There are three sections to the street. In the first section, there are four recessed monumental slate engravings from Heron's current series of drawings entitled Elements. A mirrored etched glass wall the Reflecting-wall ' brings reflected light into the covered entrance and enables views around the corner. The roof is designed to create shafts of light, which move along the street during the day.
'The street is a place for things to happen, a film set for real life, a meeting place, an escape, a place for contemplation, a place to eat, a lunch break, a dinner date, a rendezvous It is a walk, a short-cut, a passage to the river Thames. It is a meditation, a memory, a moment'
Susanna Heron