Smile Plastics Canary Clock Tower
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The Canary Clock Tower is a tall sculptural marker for Clerkenwell Design Week, inspired by the nearby St James Church and the area’s historic tradition of clock making. Just as a traditional clock makes the passage of time visible, this tower makes the invisible visible by displaying the current air quality through simple analogue dials made from recycled plastic, prompting designers and visitors to think about healthier and more sustainable materials, structures and environments.
The tower is clad in 100% recycled and recyclable plastic off cuts supplied by Smile Materials. These form a vibrant outer skin fixed to a lightweight upper frame built from reused scaffold. The lower section is timber to give a warm, tactile base. Each recycled plastic clock face is driven by a straightforward mechanism located at the base for easy adjustment during the festival.
Above the tower, a caged canary forms the weather vane, moving with each change in wind direction. It recalls the canary in the coal mine, a quiet warning that invites visitors to consider the value of the air we breathe.
The sustainability and legacy of the installation are central to the Canary Clock Tower. The project embraces circularity at every stage, with all cladding made from Smile Plastics sheets that are one hundred percent recycled and fully recyclable. Following the festival we will explore opportunities to relocate the piece to a longer term public setting so that its message about air quality can continue to be shared. When the structure eventually reaches the end of its life, the plastic components will be taken back by Smile Plastics for full recycling, the timber elements will be reused across future projects and the scaffold frame will return to circulation as standard equipment.
Education is another key strand of the project. We will work with organisations such as the Clean Air Fund and The Ella Roberta Foundation, and we will include interpretative boards that explain the importance of clean air, the environmental story behind the materials, and the circular design principles that shaped the tower.
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