Bow School

We were commissioned by Bow Arts, working closely with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Bow School, to redesign a tired underpass beneath the busy A12 in East London—leading to the newly built Bow secondary school. The school also wanted a welcoming, eye-catching entrance gate and for the underpass ramp walls to be brightened with a splash of colour. We collaborated with a group of students who played a key role in shaping the design brief and participated throughout the process to co-design the artwork. The students wanted the artwork to ‘motivate’ people on their journey and to feel ‘ever changing,’ reflecting the dynamic nature of East London’s built environment. To build strong connections with the surrounding community and local businesses—since the new school would significantly change the area—we involved them in the project as well. Inspired by the theme of ‘motivation,’ we asked hundreds of local people, “What advice would you give your 13-year-old self?” Collecting this wisdom from across the area, we created semi-permanent pedestrian wayfinding clues using asphalt floor tiles. The underpass is 40 metres long with two facing walls, which were fitted with digitally printed Art Tiles manufactured in the UK. The entrance walls were painted to complement the artwork, and a large hand-painted mural spelling out ‘Believe in Yourself’ was created on the school side of the walkway. The project’s unveiling included a series of temporary pavement asphalts featuring the collected ‘words of wisdom,’ guiding visitors along the safest route to the new school entrance.