Challenge

In the second half of the 19th Century Oldham became the world’s most productive textile producing centre, and by 1911 the town hosted an incredible 16.4 million spindles housed in over 360 mills. Elk Mill was the largest of these mills.

Elk Mill has recently been converted into a modern retail park offering big brand shops and a selection of dining options, but its glorious past is not forgotten with various tributes that point to the regions impressive textile history. ASF was approached by Vector Design to manufacture a modern cycle stand to help in doing just that.

The silhouette of a sheep was chosen to be manufactured in stainless steel; the sheep, standing large and proud, looks backwards over its own shoulder – a nod to the heritage of this historically significant site.

Solution

Specifier, Vector Design had struggled to find a manufacturer who could take on this project and contacted ASF to see if it was feasible.  At this stage the method of manufacture was still up in the air and a number of options were investigated. Most methods were either massively expensive or limited in some other way - timescale being a key issue. ASF had to find a solution that was both within budget and time restrictions yet still produced a great looking product that was robust enough to endure the rigors of a busy retail park.

It was decided that a single skin, heavy duty one piece unit was the best option.

The sheep shaped cycle stands are manufactured in 20mm thick, grade 316 stainless steel. They are produced by plasma profiling 20mm thick stainless steel sheet, using computer numerically controlled machinery, and are finished hand polished. A process that itself blends the modernity of the project and material with the hands on skills of past industrial times.

Designed to be cast directly into the ground, grouting voids were profiled into the base below ground level for added stability, as well as holes to site rebar anchors for even more security and stability.

Once manufactured the sheep silhouettes weigh in at a hefty 69kg each of solid stainless steel.

Outcome

The finished articles have met the brief and offered an artistic installation that has a definite practical application, modern in appearance but clearly referencing the history of the site and the region as a whole.

The heavy duty, high grade stainless steel finished hand polished offers a low maintenance and extremely robust product expected to last for decades.