Sweet Terrain

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Sweet Terrain, created in collaboration with Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad, transforms excavated clay from HS2’s Old Oak Common station into a new architectural language rooted in West London’s cultural landscape. Developed with local Middle Eastern bakers, the ceramic surfaces borrow their ornament from traditional maamoul biscuit moulds, translating domestic acts of making into permanent civic architecture. The project reconnects material, community and place, allowing excavated materials to become carriers of local identity rather than a by-product of development. Produced with Craven Dunnill Jackfield, one of Britain’s oldest tile manufacturers, the work brings together contemporary infrastructure and historic of ceramic craftsmanship.

The development of Sweet Terrain explored how excavated clay could meet the technical requirements of contemporary architecture while retaining the character of its origin. Through a series of material trials, firing tests and glaze experiments, the project established a new ceramic specification using locally recovered clay. Historic baking moulds became tools for architectural ornament, their intricate relief translated into durable ceramic surfaces suitable for large-scale public installation. Developed alongside manufacturers, engineers and ceramic specialists, the project demonstrates how traditional craft knowledge can inform new industrial processes. The resulting tiles embody both material innovation and cultural continuity.

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