Visualisation of a chessboard on the chosen site.
We want to break the common preconception that concrete is a cold, grey, faceless material by colouring it red and white and using chess pieces to exploit its sculptural capabilities. The colours and shapes provide an intriguiging contrast to the flat grey concrete that dominates much of the Moor and the idea of a large scale board game provides a material that people can really get their hands on and explore.
We have chosen to design the individual pieces ourselves, making them best suited to their method of production and the environment they will occupy. At the same time the traditional chess pieces will still be recogisable: the Queen with her crown, the King with his cross and the horse-headed knight.
Rook
Knight
We chose a chessboard as a space for conversation as the game of chess is an activity recognised by people of all ages and upbringings. People are brought together by a public board game which can be played at a simple level by novices or by enormously skilled chess masters. Conversation and thought is generated between both between two opponents and spectators who stand and sit around the board.
Where to find the chessboard:
The chessboard can be found where the main street of the Moor intersects with Matilda Street between 12:30pm and 3:00pm on Friday 26th February 2010.
We chose this site as provides a central space that can approached from several different directions. Directly around the board there is an enclosed space with concrete seating that players and spectators can gather into yet in the wider context there is an open space of circulation roots. The board will be in a central position in the Moor without distrubing the general flow of people.
The site looking towards Matilda Street.
Matter Reality 