The hoardings have been installed around the perimeter of One the Square and the site of the new Ibis hotel and showcase large-format photographs of a bookshelf next to architectural 3D renders and advertising messages for the new developments. The books are intended as a reminder of the city’s role in helping to inspire and nurture generations of renowned authors, great thinkers and scientific breakthroughs.
36 of the 55 different books shown are by University of Cambridge alumni or academics including monumental works by Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Milton. Four are guidebooks for the city or its colleges. The spines of the 15 remaining books have been given made up titles such as “30 minutes to Stansted” and “Prime business location” to highlight key benefits of the new Cambridge city quarter and are ‘authored’ by the companies involved in making it happen.
“The area around Cambridge station is undergoing a massive transformation and we wanted to design some memorable hoardings that visitors and commuters could relate to as the redevelopment work continues. All the books linked with the university were specifically selected to cover a range of subjects, spanning hundreds of years and to include literary masterpieces as well as some of today’s best known and most influential thinkers and writers,” said Ian Coote, designer at Silk Pearce.
Silk Pearce’s design work included in-depth research at Cambridge University Library to identify potential works and to verify when the authors attended the university. All the books were then sourced from libraries or auction sites before being photographed individually. The bookshelf image is displayed across several lengths of hoarding panels, although each panel has been designed with an exact number of book spines so it can be easily reconfigured or relocated as required.
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