A New Look for Public Toilets in Dover (part2)
I love the artist – builder relationship.
This particular job used workers from Romney Marsh and the surrounding area and was a smaller building company. They were very accommodating considering the amount of stuff I brought into an already crowded space and made working even slightly harder. They made me teas, did my angle grinding and offered me tools and materials if I needed them.
‘Swaping stories’ about previous jobs is a ritual and ‘story telling’ in this context is an art….. and good story telling is a great way of integrating with them and fostering good working relationships.
‘Singing’ loudly unabashed and badly to catchy songs on the radio. I am not a ‘singer’ I tend to whistle, but the singers are very amusing to me and it puts me in mind of working songs or sea shanties. I wished I could sing and was able to change the words to fit a tune to bemoan how long the hours and low the pay etc. But listening to others sing badly while I whistle is OK.
‘Random expletives’…. might be heard now and then…… ‘Sh*t or Bust then’…..was a loud one I heard out of nowhere breaking total silence. This was so random I had to stop what I was doing and find out what motivated the remark!… A carpenter had to cut the bottom off a door with a circular saw set at what he hoped was the right angle to fit a rubber threshold seal thing, which will be attached to the sloping floor. He smiled at me saying ‘I’ve f**k*d up better doors than these’.
He later told me that he had re hung every door in Dungeness power station. They had to upgrade the fire rating on every door. Which ment taking the old one off and replaceing it it with a better one. Cut to size with hinges, and locks, handles etc. He said it was half a year of changing doors day in day out. I think he said he had to leave the job before it was finished as it was so boring, but I might have invented that bit I cant remember now.
Anyway….my part of this is what started out being described by the architect as the ‘dado’. The Town Council wanted considerably more than a dado rail…. something more? you know, less safe…… with a little more impact….as a dado rail was not going to be the talk of the town. I found myself in the middle of a tussle between high hopes, visions, ideas, blue sky, yes yes break tradition involve everyone and celebrate Dover. And on the other hand…short time scales, impact of others working on site, limited budgets, risk and public opinion on whats acceptable during the public toilet experience and other valid delivery aspects.
