‘As part of the London Road project team the artist, Chris Tipping created a concept for a simple, elegant, and uncluttered public realm which uses quality materials and paving patterns to emphasise existing focal points, meeting places, thresholds, makers and gateways.

A key feature is a series of striking black terrazzo seats, which include two, 3m diameter seats in the form of the rose or sexfoil window of the former St. Paul’s Church.  Destroyed, alongside seven other Southampton Churches, during the bombing of November 1940, the Church stood at the heart of London Road, opposite Vernon Walk and was the focus of religious and social life.   

Each seat is inlaid with extracts from the historical records of many of the varied clubs and societies that would regularly meet in the church hall.’ Elizabeth Smith Public Arts Officer SCC 

Elizabeth Smith, Southampton City Council's Art and Public Realm Project Officer, outlined the successful collaboration:

'Chris Tipping is an outstanding artist whose creative ideas significantly contribute to the form and quality of our public realm. He possesses a high degree of technical expertise and knowledge that ensures all his ideas can be fully translated to the built form.

Chris delights working in partnership with client, contractor, and specialist fabricator from concept to practical completion on site, often pushing the perceived limits of production methods to achieve new and remarkable outcomes.

Chris's work in Southampton has enabled the City Council to deliver some of its most challenging public realm projects, furthering the understanding and appreciation of the role of the artist in the design and planning of our cities.'