Sweet Terrain is a landmark public artwork by designers Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad and Rafael El Baz that connects construction waste, placemaking, industrial heritage and traditional craft.

Sourcing raw clay from one of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects, HS2’s Old Oak Common station site, the project reprocesses this displaced material into intricately patterned tiles – returning it to its original location as a permanent part of the built environment.

Developed in close collaboration with a community of Middle Eastern bakers, the tile designs draw on the ornate moulds and tools traditionally used for maamoul cookies. These patterns celebrate cultural heritage while embodying a deeper narrative of resource transformation and place-based identity. The clay is reworked in Ironbridge Gorge by Craven Dunnill Jackfield, one of Britain’s oldest tilemakers.

This partnership sustains the UK’s historic ceramics industry while producing over 300 square metres of handcrafted tiles to the highest standards of durability and finish. Sweet Terrain presents a working model of sustainable manufacturing that connects local communities in placemaking while supporting UK traditional craft and industries.

Support

Clay for Sweet Terrain is sourced from the HS2 Old Oak Common station site and was made available with the support of High Speed 2 (HS2) Ltd and Balfour Beatty VINCI SYSTRA Joint Venture.