well, it’s been another long pause between blog posts, but it’s not been forgotten, only postponed, due to, uhm, general life happening at a pace, i guess. but when things get busy and exhausting, there comes the need to take a break and go somewhere else to recharge. so let’s take a road trip. let’s go, from scotland, to somewhere nice in the sunny south of great britain. anywhere. if you like going fast, you’ll take the motorway, the m6. it’s not the most scenic of routes, so it gets monotonous, and since tiredness can kill, there will be a time to take a break. and there, you’ll eventually come across a fabulous concrete tower emerging in the landscape with a futuristic footbridge arching over the motorway, and suddenly you feel compelled to indicate your exit to spend some time in this fascinating piece of architecture - we’ve arrived to forton services!
i have always been obsessed with logistics. the excitement of logistics and infrastructure never gets boring – perhaps it’s no surprise that some of zitozza’s block printed fabrics are directly inspired by road signs and wayfinding systems.
i just love it when everything and everyone in the system has its place and function, a well oiled machine itself that can take care of millions of people and things getting where they are meant to be when they are meant to be. but while the architecture that serves this system has to be purely functional, for curious travellers who are excited to be somewhere new soon, the associations fill all of this functional stuff with positive meanings, the typefaces on vans and reg plates, the smell of the handwash soap, the hot touch of the disposable coffee cup are all symbols of the anticipation of getting there. so from this point of view, a well designed, interesting motorway station is a piece of happiness on earth, and ...for someone who makes textile prints of road signs – like SOROMPÓ or any number of grid-based modular patterns – it’s a piece of inspiration too, doubly so if it’s brutalist of course!
forton services today belongs to the moto bk chain, and you’ll find it on the m6 between junction 32 and 33. it opened in 1965, and according to SOSbrutalism, the designers were bill galloway and ray anderson of the architecture firm tp bennett and son. (yes, that’s of the same thomas bennett of the saville theatre, amongst other things - today they do a lot of interesting commercial projects - totally worth a look!)
there are some two-storey buildings on both sides of the motorway with restaurants and cafes, connected by a high-tech looking footbridge forming a light arch over the motorway. to walk across it is a great exercise to stretch the legs a little and the eyes to the distance too. the timber ceiling panels of the inside of the bridge somehow creates a very nostalgic mood in the warmth of this texture reflecting the light directly below it. that just further excites about the travel - i’m not sure how materials do it but’s definitely the timber. the tunnel view of the inside of the bridge has an octagonal frame with the joins at each window panel cutting your corners diagonally. the outside view of course is the endless motorway and the crowds of cars going somewhere.
of course, it’s most distinctive point is the pennine tower, emerging from the landscape on the northbound side with its cantilevered hexagon at the top. it used to be some accommodation and a restaurant - this blog has some archive images of the fabulous decor in its full glory (as well as the whole structure when it was pristine white!) it reminds me of the early decor of the UFO bridge in bratislava a little bit (more of that in another blog post i think…) and i would have loved to enjoy a meal there, the views across then countryside must have been breathtaking on a sunny day.
unfortunately due to the strict fire regulations, it is now closed to the general public and it is now grade II listed, even though it might be hard work to re-open it.
it was intentionally designed to resemble an airport’s traffic control tower and that all i can feel is the anticipation of getting somewhere, perhaps it’s succeeded in its job. it is a cliché to say that we must enjoy the journey as much as the destination, but in the case of how motorway stations ought to be, there is definitely truth in it!
if you enjoy exploring the crossroads of architecture and textiles, you might like our collections – heavily influenced by modernist infrastructure and brutalist forms. see you next time - and don’t forget, tiredness can kill, take a break.
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