Superb work from Benedict Radcliffe as he builds gorgeous skate/performance bowl

Personal projects are often a great way for creatives to showcase their skills emancipated from the commercial restrictions which can sometimes hold them back in their day-to-day work. And designer/engineer/woodworker/metalworker Benedict Radcliffe has proved once and for all that if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.

He negotiated with a company who owned an old shop to get hold of the wood they were discarding and then rented a space just off Brick Lane in east London to build this beautiful bowl which will be used for dance and theatre performances as well as BMX and skating. Measuring 15m x 9m and 1.5 meter deep (with a 7.5ft transition) it’s a tremendous example of his consummate craftsmanship on a scale that renders it all the more impressive. And the fact he did it off his own back proves there’s no excuse for sitting around between projects…