‘INCALMO PUNTI’ is a facility that combines local glass recycling and glassblowing processes to educate the public as to the process and religious undertones of glass craft. A term in the glass making profession; ‘INCALMO’ pertains to the notion of welding physical objects and sharing ideas and wisdom. That of which is potent within this scheme through the knowledge and experience shared within the classrooms, workshops, and design hub which site along the canal front. These spaces providing opportunities to pass glass making skills through lessons and apprenticeships to a younger generation, including that of the Cocktail Society at NTU, one of this university’s largest factions.
‘PUNTI’ alludes to both a point origin, and the cyclic nature of life, whereby glass shards are harvested from the surrounding bars to be cleaned and sorted through automation, before being transported into the adjacent room to be melted down and restored to their original splendor posthaste to meet demand for those very receptacles in pubs, clubs, and restaurants around the city of Nottingham. A ‘punty’ is also the very tool used to form the cocktail glasses on site.
Navigating at mezzanine level, visitors experience the ethereal qualities of light through its symbiotic relationship with stained glass, as it guides said visitors around the perimeter of the scheme from the modern day use of glassware within the restaurant, through its chronological history in the gallery, and back to modern day at the shop prior to your exit. Coming full circle in terms of time and position on site, walking a similar loop (PUNTI). Whereas on ground floor level, the expert craftsmen create bespoke pieces through seemingly performative art to an admiring audience that possess similar passions and express them by working with the experts (INCALMO).