A colourful shopfront with large, vibrant flower murals on the wall and glass doors labelled Jelly and making space for art. People walk by in a bright indoor corridor with polished floors and modular, sustainable design elements.

Photograph copyright – John Angerson 2022
Jelly Arts, Reading, Berkshire.

A person walks past a modern indoor structure featuring modular light wood and translucent panels, set in a bright room with white walls, a tiled ceiling, and a tidy, minimalist environment.

Photograph copyright – John Angerson 2022
Jelly Arts, Reading, Berkshire.

A woman sits on stacked plywood cubes in a bright classroom, writing on a clipboard. Nearby are tables with coloured paper, a calendar, and a marker. The room features timber construction and modular wooden dividers for a modern, organised atmosphere.

Photograph copyright – John Angerson 2022
Jelly Arts, Reading, Berkshire.

A brightly lit room with translucent plastic walls and timber construction frames. Colourful children's artwork hangs from a string, and a wooden cube structure crafted from plywood with circular cut-outs sits on the floor. Art supplies are on the shelves.

Photograph copyright – John Angerson 2022
Jelly Arts, Reading, Berkshire.

A small room with unfinished plywood walls and modular shelves holding scattered small items, hanging sketches, a wooden stool, a box with a hole, and various art supplies, giving the space a creative, workshop-like feel with hints of timber construction.

Photograph copyright – John Angerson 2022
Jelly Arts, Reading, Berkshire.

A bright art studio with plywood-framed, transparent partition walls, an open door, a guitar case, and a rustic wooden desk with art supplies; modular artwork and photos are displayed on the walls.

Photograph copyright – John Angerson 2022
Jelly Arts, Reading, Berkshire.

A woman in a red jumper works in a sustainable birch art studio, arranging prints and tools on a colourful table. Artworks and decorations hang above, with supplies organised in modular green bins around her.

Photograph copyright – John Angerson 2022
Jelly Arts, Reading, Berkshire.

Two people sit at a small table in a modern room with modular birch plywood walls, working together on a laptop and papers. Bright clothing and colourful items hang in the background.

Photograph copyright – John Angerson 2022
Jelly Arts, Reading, Berkshire.

Five people work together to lift and position a large spruce beam, highlighting sustainable timber construction, inside a room with shelves and stacks of timber panels in the background.
A woman wearing a striped shirt and a face mask installs or adjusts a screw in a modular wooden shelving unit. She is holding a tool, with a cordless drill and paint roller visible nearby, showcasing her skills in timber construction.

Jelly: Making Space for Art

Arts Charity Jelly came to us with an interesting design brief. They wanted a bespoke, adaptable space to host a diverse range of ideas, art and workshops, but didn’t currently own their own building. To suit their needs as a nomadic organisation we created a series of removable pods and modular furniture which can be deconstructed and relocated easily if they ever need to move.

The Jelly community was fully immersed in the building process and with so many hands on site, the construction took only two days, however their prominent location in a shopping mall in Reading made for creative approach on design and logistics. We had to consider how to get all the parts into the mall with people going about their day and shopping, which involved a large team carrying parts up and down a service corridor and tiny goods lift.

In this photo you can see the modular 450mm U-Build cubes that Jelly use to create a range of flexible seating, workspace and gallery props and three U-Build pods in the background.

Some of the interesting people featured in the photos include:

Mother Tongue: A group of women for whom English is an additional language. They come together to share creative skills, conversation and friendship. They are currently making sleeping bags for the ICU unit at Royal Berkshire Hospital at Jelly’s creative hub in Reading.

Linda Newcombe: who works with monotypes, using a method of producing prints that does not require an etching press.

Matt Hulse: a resident artist working in one of the studios to prep his signage for a public street based performance offering ‘Free Advice’.

A bit more on Jelly below:

‘Jelly is an energetic charity championing the creative arts. We have played a strategic role in Reading’s cultural life since 1993 – enabling art to appear in unexpected places and creating opportunities for people to look on and join in.’

@thejellyreading

📸 of finished construction by @johnangerson

📸 during construction by U-Build

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