X40 – Community Art Exchange
Toxteth has a very rich history due to the turmoil of riots and urban decay. This proved to be a significant driving factor in the design of The X40 Art Exchange, aiming to provide a safe space for the community to interact and unify. Along¬side this, X40 also attempts to recognise the history of the area, whilst representing a new and established Toxteth.
X40 consists of a variety of spaces, for example sunlit plazas and shaded terraces to cater for these diverse interactions and a communal art studio acts as the core exchange of ideas and creativity between the community.
An outer-frame diagrid, produced from the patterns of the windows in the nearby Greek Orthodox Church, creates an enclosed and secure atmosphere. Reglit glass wrapped around the frame creates multiple thresholds and layered facades to represent the ambiguous juxtaposition between Toxteth’s history and new image. The contorted facades at the core represent the past turmoil and the pristine Reglit box provides a new image with some reveal to its history due to the Reglits translucency.
X40 is a safe space which ultimately aims to act as an anchor for the diverse community.
